|
|
|
 VODAFONE FIJI
|
|
24 November, 2002
Fiji go down but restore pride
By Jeremy Duxbury
After two quite awful, passionless displays against Wales and Ireland, Fiji’s much-improved performance in their 36-22 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday went a long way to restoring a little credibility and pride into their game.
Though the scoreline showed a 14-point win for the Scots, the Fijians gave them a bit of a fright with two good tries and some close misses.
 |
|
Good debut... Nariva at fullback
|
Had Norman Ligairi's toe-pokes finished with kinder bounces, Fiji might even have pulled off an upset. His fellow winger Fero Lasagavibau also came excruciatingly close to making an intercept that would have seen him in the clear, but he lost grip of the ball in the process.
The video ref was called into action on two occasions, and both decisions went Scotland’s way. Firstly, Ligairi’s effort in the corner was ruled to have been touched down on the sideline; then Brendan Laney’s brush with the corner flag was ignored and a Scotland try awarded.
Leading up to the first incident, Fiji had a three-on-one advantage and should have scored, but the kick ahead was poor.
Ligairi made up for it by rounding off the try of the match in the last few minutes.
Waisale Serevi, filling in at halfback for Jacob Rauluni (who reportedly played the day before for Rotherham), began a move in the Fiji half and put Satala into the gap. The Harlequins centre offloaded to prop forward Isaia Rasila, who showed terrific pace to gain 30 metres before flicking back to Serevi. Epeli Ruivadra joined in support then moved it wide for Ligairi to score in the corner
Fiji’s earlier try went to Api Naevo after Seta Tawake produced a fine turn of speed before chipping over the top as Naevo charged forward, caught the high bounce and dived over the line.
 |
|
Rauluni... two games in two days
|
That made the score 18-17 in Scotland’s favour, and had Joseph Narruhn connected with the conversion, Fiji would have taken the lead with half an hour to play.
But in the end, Scotland’s five tries, including a hat trick to centre Andy Craig, proved too much.
Questions for Fiji still remain in the line-outs, where skipper Greg Smith struggled once more to find the jumper, and also the number of infringements at the breakdown.
Sisa Koyamaibole received a yellow card in the 25th minute for repeated infringements, and Smith also spent the final few minutes of the match in the sin-bin after some fisticuffs with Martin Leslie.
On the positive side, Fiji’s tackling was vastly superior to last week’s debacle, and Atonio Nariva slotted in comfortably at fullback in his first Test.
Rasila added welcome mobility to the front row and Tawake stood out at No.8, winning some turnovers and gaining good ground with ball in hand.
But coach Mac McCallion will face an inquisition by the FRU on his return over the size of the first two defeats and the earlier lack of spirit or cohesion in the team.
 |
|
Mobile front rower.. Rasila
|
Calls to bring in new blood and pick more locally based players have been consistent, and the overall results of the tour gives more ammunition to such critics.
Sunday, 24 November 2002
SCOTLAND 36 FIJI 22
Venue: Murrayfield, Edniburgh
Kick-off: 3pm
Half-time: 18-12
Crowd: 37,351
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Giulio de Santis (Italy)
SCOTLAND: 15 Ben Hinshelwood, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Andy Craig, 12 Brendan Laney, 11 Chris Paterson (Stuart Moffat 40), 10 Gregor Townsend (Gordon Ross 69), 9 Bryan Redpath – captain (Graeme Beveridge 74), 8 Jon Petrie (Martin Leslie 57 – yellow card 75-84), 7 Budge Pountney, 6 Simon Taylor, 5 Stuart Grimes, 4 Jason White (Nathan Hines 24), 3 Bruce Douglas, 2 Gordon Bulloch (Steve Scott 68), 1 Tom Smith.
Reserve not used: David Hilton
Tries: Craig (3), Laney, Grimes
Conversion: Laney
Penalty goals: Laney (3)
FIJI: 15 Atonio Nariva, 14 Fero Lasagavibau, 13 Epeli Ruivadra, 12 Seremaia Bai (Vili Satala 47), 11 Norman Ligairi, 10 Joseph Narruhn, 9 Jacob Rauluni (Waisale Serevi 70), 8 Seta Tawake (Emori Katalau 69), 7 Alivereti Mocelutu (Bill Gadolo 75), 6 Sisa Koyamaibole (yellow card 25-34), 5 Simon Raiwalui, 4 Api Naevo (Kele Leawere 57), 3 Bill Cavubati, 2 Greg Smith – captain (yellow card 75-84), 1 Isaia Rasila.
Reserves not used: Paula Biu, Isaac Mow.
Tries: Naevo, Ligairi
Penalty goals: Narruhn (4)
Scoring sequence (Scotland first): Craig try (Laney conv) (8 mins) 7-0; Narruhn pen (13 mins) 7-3; Narruhn pen (18 mins) 7-6; Laney pen (21 mins) 10-6; Laney pen (23 mins) 13-6; Craig try (29 mins) 18-6; Narruhn pen (31 mins) 18-9; Narruhn pen (35 mins) 18-12. Half-time. Naevo try (49 mins) 18-17; Laney pen (56 mins) 21-17; Laney try (60 mins) 26-17; Craig try (73 mins) 31-17; Ligairi try (78 mins) 31-22; Grimes try (84 mins) 36-22.
Scoreboard
Line-up graphic
Preview
Fiji squad profiles
The squad & itinerary
|
|
