Fiji slips against Uruguay in its second RWC pool match
The Fiji Airways Flying Fijians went down 30-27 to a resilient Uruguay side in its second Rugby World Cup pool match at Kimaishi Memorial Stadium in Japan this evening.
It was a tightly contest between the two sides but Fiji opened the scoreboard in the 7th minute with a try from hooker Mesulame Dolokoto.
Uruguay responded in the 14th minute and got a lead of 5-7 before Eroni Mawi dived over the line to score Fiji’s second try four minutes later.
The Los Teros then took advantage of the mistakes by the Flying Fijians and managed to cross the line twice for tries and also slotted a successful penalty, taking a 24-12 lead at the breather.
The Flying Fijians were again first to get the points in the second spell with a Ratuniyarawa try in the 47th minute.
Coach John McKee injected fresh legs, bringing in Ben Volavola, Nikola Matawalu, Levani Botia, Tevita Cavubati, Campese Ma’afu, Lee-Roy Atalifo and Veremalua Vugakoto.
Uruguay’s Felipe Berchesi was at his best form on the day and managed to extend their lead to 27-12 from a penalty kick.
While time was running, so was Fiji’s hope of getting its first win at the RWC. Fiji started to put extra effort in the game and Nikola Matawalu got two quick tries but it was not enough as Fiji went down fighting.
Skipper Dominiko Waqaniburotu said “Everything went wrong for us today.
“We under estimated a very good Uruguay side and this was not the result we wanted today.”
Coach John McKee said “We were off the pace at critical areas, gifted them tries and we just didn’t had the mental toughness to get back into the game.”
He added “We should get ourselves up from the floor now and make sure we are ready to play Georgia in the next eight days, which is a very important game for us.”
Despite all that Fiji managed to earn two bonus points in defeat and is third in Pool D after two matches.
They face Georgia next Thursday 3 October 2019 at 5.15pm (Fiji Time) at the Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka Prefecture, Higashiosaka City.