Fiji Warriors lead the way in Pacific Challenge

Fiji Warriors defeated Junior Japan 28-3 in the second round of matches on Tuesday, putting them on track to win the World Rugby Pacific Challenge for a record third time in a row.

The hosts defeated Samoa A 40-10 last Friday, moving them up to the top of the Samoa A standings after their fellow Pacific Islanders overcame that setback.

against Saturday, the Fiji Warriors take against Tonga A and Samoa A play Junior Japan in the last match of the Pacific Challenge.

The World Rugby-funded competition provides a high-performance pathway for a core group of under-23 players from domestic to international rugby. It is a tried-and-true player development platform throughout the Pacific Islands and Asia.

SAMOA A 10-40 TONGA A

In an overwhelming victory at ANZ Stadium, Samoa A overcame an early deficit to turn around their campaign against their Tongan counterparts.

Winger Fetuli Paea’s score in the third minute gave Tonga A the lead, but D’Angelo Leiulia’s conversion of Ricky Ene’s try ten minutes later gave Samoa A the advantage. After 17 minutes, the Tongans were ahead 10-7 thanks to a swift response from their other winger Tuhakavalu Ika, but that would be their only point of the game.

Samoa A led 19–10 at halftime after to scores from flanker Fa’asauvale Lucky and captain Henry Stowers. In the second half, they took command of the game with two tries in six minutes from Ene and hooker Gafa Sua.

Prior to scrum-half Iosua Faalele’s touchdown in the closing minutes, the score was 33-10. As a result, Samoa A moved up to second place in the standings, ahead of Junior Japan on points difference.

“First of all, we are very fortunate to have such a wonderful crowd. Bravo to the Tonga team; they were strong and quick, but I felt we executed our plan effectively. We finished because we went wide and had strength and speed, stated Samoa.

28-3 JUNIOR JAPAN FIJI WARRIORS
Although both of the day one winners were hoping to improve their title chances by winning at ANZ Stadium, it was the seven-time champion Fiji Warriors who took home the bonus point triumph.

Complete-back Five minutes in, a try from Inia Tawalo gave the home team the ideal lead. Junior Japan fly-half Taichi Mano then responded with a penalty.

A prop card in yellow Fiji Warriors took use of their man advantage thanks to Gakuto Ishida, as hooker Veremalua Vugakoto scored the try that put his team ahead 14-3 at halftime.

Any dreams of a Japanese comeback were dashed with two tries in as many minutes early in the second half, much to the joy of the home crowd, from prop Luke Tagi and scrum-half Frank Lomani.

There would be no more points scored, placing the Fiji Warriors at the top of the standings. However, skipper Mosese Voka acknowledged that there were still areas that needed improvement before their match against Tonga A.

“The boys had a great game; we had to follow the strategy, but even though we made mistakes along the way, we prevailed in the end. We must strengthen our areas of weakness in discipline and breakdown; if we achieve so, I believe we will perform well against Tonga. Although Tonga will always be a formidable foe, I believe we can defeat them if we follow our game plan and make the right plays.

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