Vodafone Fiji U20 Finishes in 5th Place

Fiji put the disappointment of back-to-back defeats to Georgia and Uruguay behind them to claim fifth place at the expense of a Namibian side who were more than a match for the Islanders for a good hour at the CAR Rugby do Jamor.

Vodafone Fiji U20

Namibia led 11-5 as the first half drew to a close but a two-try salvo in double quick time ensured it was Fiji – top seeds after being relegated from the U20 Championship last year – who held a six-point advantage at half-time. Centre Kaveni Dabenaise’s score and Filipo Daugunu’s conversion edged the Islanders in front in the 39th minute before fly-half Seremaia Turagabeci spun out of an attempted tackle from his opposite number to touch down for a 17-11 lead.

Undeterred, Namibia fought back with the first score of the second half, prop Hans Breedt rumbling over to reduce the gap to a single point. A penalty from Henrique Olivier, while Fiji had a man in the sin-bin, put Namibia ahead 19-17, but the riposte from Fiji was devastating with three tries between the 63rd and 71st minutes turning the game on its head.

Enjoying the sun on their backs and showing the sort of flair they are renowned for, Fiji scored their fourth try when Seveci Nakanailagi finished well in the corner and he was quickly followed over the line by Patrick Beramaisu, who rounded off a superb length-of-the-field, before Jone Sevuya grabbed try number six. Namibia scrum-half Damian Stevens scored a late consolation.

“Fifth place wasn’t what we aimed for, we wanted to do better than that, but we’re still happy with today’s victory,” said Fiji captain Serupepeli Momo.

Source: worldrugby.org