Fiji 47
Uruguay 15
FIJI GOT OFF the mark in World Cup 2015 with a big win against Uruguay in Milton Keynes, running in seven tries against the minnows to sign off their tournament in style.
As usual there was a mix of ridiculous and sublime from the Pacific Islanders with some stunning, flowing tries mixed in with enough creaky defending to make a routine win enjoyable for the neutral.
But with Fiji assured of their win in the final 20 minutes things began to boil over, referee JP Doyle dishing out a yellow and red card following a couple of post-try skirmishes in the second half.
The game was just two minutes old when Fiji crossed the line. Another stunning offload from the delicate hands of Leone Nakarawa put Lepani Botia into the corner. Botia knocked it on, but a no-arms tackle from Agustin Ormaechea resulted in a penalty try.
Ormaechea was then sent to the sin-bin, as Uruguay’s long night got off to the worst possible start.
Fiji’s scrum has been a revelation at the tournament, and it was a big factor in their second try on nine minutes. They shifted up on the blindside, allowing Nemia Kenatale to break from the base, and the scrum half did incredibly well to touch down in the corner.
Kicking has been a real issue for smaller nations at this tournament, but one man who didn’t seem fazed on the tee was Alejo Duran, the Uruguayan out-half looking nerveless as he slotted a long-range penalty to get the South Americans off the mark and reduce the gap to 12-3.
That perked them up, and two minutes they crossed for their first try of the tournament. Ormaechea made up for his sin-binning with a sniping break down the blindside, and after they went through the phases, hooker Carlos Arboleya charged through the hard line to cross the whitewash.
But the Fijians were dismantling the scrum, and their dominance was rewarded with a penalty try just before the half-hour mark.
After Duran’s big penalty earlier, Ormaechea tried from range with an effort of his own, but the scrum-half’s shank drifted well wide of the posts.
We then saw peak-Fiji as they wrapped up a bonus point in style. Nadolo broke down the wing before feeding Leone Nakarawa inside, and the Glasgow Warriors second-row dummied his way in under the posts from 40 metres out as Fiji made it a 16 point game by half time.
The second half struggled to find life, before Ormaechea crossed for Uruguay’s second try on 55 minutes. Rodrigo Silva looked like scoring after chasing down a fly-hack, but the bounce of the ball evaded him five metres out. However after retaining possession, it was the scrum-half Ormaechea who darted into corner.
Things boiled-over between the sides after Fiji’s fifth try. After barrelling his way over, Tevita Cavubati reacted badly to a tackle by Rodrigo Silva, and after some brief handbags between the sides referee JP Doyle kept his cards in his pocket.
Try number six arrived within seconds of the restart, with a stunning counter attack spoiled by yet more pushing and shoving in the aftermath. Kini Murimurivalu finished off a stunning sweeping move, but after Ormaechea shoved Campese Ma’afu in the face both were sin-binned by Doyle, with Ormaechea’s second yellow resulting in a red card.
But there was still time for Nemani Nadolo to finish off the scoring, with the 20-stone winger powering his way through the last line of defence, converting his own try with the final play of the game.
Fiji scorers:Tries: Penalty Try (2), Leone Nakarawa, Nemia Kenatale, Tevita Cavubati, Kini Murimurivalu, Nemani Nadolo (1 each)Conversions: Nemani Nadolo (6)
Uruguay scorers:
Tries: Carlos Arboleya, Agustin Ormaechea (1 each)
Conversions: Agustin Ormaechea (1)Penalties: Alejo Duran (1)
FIJI: Kini Murimurivalu, Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Vereniki Goneva, Lepani Botia, Nemani Nadolo, Ben Volavola, Nemia Kenatale; Campese Ma’afu, Sunia Koto, Leroy Atalifo, Apisalome Ratuniyarawa, Leone Nakarawa, Dominiko Waqaniburotu, Akapusi Qera (capt), Sakiusa Matadigo.
Replacements: Wiliame Veikoso, Peni Ravai, Taniela Koroi, Tevita Cavubati, Netani Talei, Henry Seniloli, Josh Matavesi, Timoci Nagusa.
URUGUAY: Gaston Mieres, Santiago Gibernau, Joaquin Prada, Andres Vilaseca, Rodrigo Silva, Alejo Duran, Agustin Ormaechea; Alejo Corral, Carlos Arboleya, Mario Sagario, Santiago Vilaseca (capt), Jorge Zerbino, Juan Manuel Gaminara, Matias Beer, Alejandro Nieto.
Replacements: German Kessler, Oscar Duran, Mateo Sanguinetti, Mathias Palomeque, Franco Lamanna, Juan De Freitas, Jeronimo Etcheverry, Francisco Bulanti
