Fiji have beaten New Zealand 4 – 2 in a thrilling quarter final in Wellington and booked themselves a match up against the Kangaroos in the semis.
In the lead up to the game all expectations were that it would be an exciting game with some great attacking talent on show from both sides, but that at the end of the day the Kiwis would win and win well.
How wrong we all were – on all of those points.
In the end the game was an 80 minute arm wrestle with the Fijians always in the ascendancy but never able to strike a killer blow leaving the Kiwis always with a shot at sneaking the win.
The Fijians got the first points early in the game with a penalty and in the first half had the bulk of possession and territory. They kept coming at the home side but interestingly they struggled to turn this possession into genuine scoring opportunities. But they didn’t panic – they kept pinning the Kiwis back deep in their own half and while the Fijis weren’t scoring, they were forcing the men in black to have to start their sets close to their own line and to make huge numbers of tackles.
The question was would the New Zealanders eventually crack and let the Fijians in or would the Fijians run out of energy and allow the Kiwis back into the game?
The Kiwis must have felt frustrated but relieved come halftime – they were 0-2 down and had not threatened at all in the first 40 minutes. On the upside they were only two points behind and had managed to withstand a huge amount of pressure from the Fijians.
The home side needed to make a good start to the second half and they got this with an early penalty and successful goal to square things up. Was this the beginning of the comeback people thought? In one word – no!
Just as the Kiwis were starting to make things happen Jordan Rapana gave away a professional foul and was sent to the bin for 10 minutes. Surely now the Fijians would turn pressure and the extra space into points!
But again the game continued to be a real back and forth as both sides looked for gaps and space but could never turn half breaks into anything more than metres gained. The Kiwis continued to hold out in defence and conceded no points at all while being down to 12 men. Could this be the inspiration they needed to fight back?
The Fijis showed they are well organised in defence in the second half when the Kiwis had a period of ball and put the visitors under pressure.
However the Kiwi attack was never at its best and despite a number of players including Tuivasa-Sheck desperately searching for a way to break the line the Fijians stayed strong and scrambled well when needed.
With 20 minutes left the Fijians choose to take another two points instead of risking another attempt at the try.
The Kiwis knew they were going to have to make something happen now but everything they tried was either purely executed or easily dealt with by the Fijians who were growing in confidence and energy.
The final 20 minutes were full of errors from both sides as the Kiwis searched for something, anything to get them back in the game. But they were never able to capitalise on any of the opportunities and despite having some of the best talent in the rugby league world they just looked flat.
As the final few minutes ticked by the Fijians continued to do everything right. Good sets, deep kicks and solid defence that put the Kiwis under continual pressure. The game had shifted – instead of viewers waiting for the attacking talent to explode, everyone was on the edge of their seat wondering if a no try game just might be the most exciting game they had seen for a long time.
New Zealand had some chances with just a few minutes left and forced a line drop out from the Fijians but in honesty the home side never really looked like scoring the much needed points.
One late attack from the Kiwis was easily dealt with and the Fijians had a 7 tackle set with just a couple of minutes to go. They did all the right things – put the ball up the jumper and took every spare second possible in the play of the ball. They kicked deep again and as Tuivasa-Sheck tried to dance his way out of defence he just got caught and driven back meaning the Kiwis had one final shot and needed to go 95 metres to win the game. They didn’t. Johnson hoisted a hail mary bomb – Naiqama defused it easily and hit the grass knowing that he was going to lead his team into the semis!
For the Fijians, they all played with so much heart. Hayne was especially impressive. He didn’t light up the game with his attack as much as viewers would have liked but his kicking and his control of the whole game was impressive. For a player who has had a lot of press this year about going missing in games and being selfish he really showed he can control entire games at the highest level.
Sims too led from the front and did so much hard work – he got his team going forwards time after time and epitomised the effort and resolve that the Fijians clearly have to add to their attacking prowess.
On the Kiwi side it was a big let down. Blair was absent for so much of the game and never set the tone for his team. Johnson too was poor – he has so much talent but in terms of controlling a game he was shown to be really lacking at this level. Tuivasa-Sheck tried to get himself into the game but even he was not at his best.
In the end the Fijians were deserved winners – the score might suggest a very tight game but in reality the Bati always looked better than their more highly ranked opponents. New Zealand rugby league has a lot of work to do. The Warriors have failed to live up to their potential for years now and the Kiwis are struggling to click at international level.
For the Fijians they now have a well-deserved shot at a place in the final. Of course they will be underdogs for their semi-final – but based on today’s performance they don’t really care what label they are given. The Aussies will be a big step up from the Kiwis for sure but they will need to make sure that they do not take the Bati lightly.
Today’s game has injected some more life into international rugby league and hopefully demonstrated that it’s not just about scoring as many tries as possible. The Fijis showed a real depth to their gameplay today and a maturity that will make them a real threat in the semis and beyond this World Cup.
Zac Jones
Roar Rookie
Matt enough of the victim mentality! It really brings Rugby League down even further. Its laughable you and your mates blame other sports for the reason Rugby League is tiny
peeeko
Guest
that Australian 2014 team was missing a lot of players
Adam
Roar Guru
Not all union fans are that way. I've unashamedly watched all the games and have enjoyed the immensely. The writing was on the wall for the Kiwis last week. To give up that lead was terrible then they were completely outplayed this week. Had the Bati been more clinical they could have (should have?) put on a big score against them.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Not really.. Fans want someone to represent their interests be it a club (Souths fans don't care if Burgess wasn't born in Redfern) or country. Lebanese fans in Lebanon were in support of their 'heritage' team with even presidential support. Tonga the same etc. The general public don't think that the players in the World Cup come from domestic leagues. The very fact so much ink has been spent on that very topic shows it to be nonsense. That and the ratings. You're arguing a point that doesn't even exist in an attempt to be 'right' and put the boot in. Nobody is under any illusion that the domestic leagues are the source for each nations representative team at this World Cup. But they are representative matches that give for players from participating countries the opportunity to participate. If they are good enough. Obviously some nations take the chance with domestic players (USA), some are unable to field stronger teams due to injury (Wales) and some choose heritage players with a goal in mind (Lebanon).
In brief
Guest
Having union or other fans come in and bag the tournament is poor form. Calling it a festival of sport is naive.
In brief
Guest
The answer is quite obvious and for me was captured by the RLWC statues I saw in Martin Place. The issue is that the majority of teams are made up of a majority of players who are non residents of the country they are representing. And it's not because they were forced overseas to play professional sport. They actually never played in the country they are representing. Yet the general public including football fans such as yourself watch the matches and naively assume they are indeed representative matches which provide a opportunity for players from the participation countries to compete. It's really a fabrication.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
lol
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Nah, it's no struggle. The last time Australia played England in Melbourne was in the 2014 Four Nations. The match drew just over 20,000. The interest for the games is more or less on par with previous tournaments and that includes television ratings. You may have to recalibrate your expectations before making a judgement on value my good man.
Concerned Observer
Guest
Evening Andrew, nice to see someone continuing the good fight It’s been a hard few weeks, we’ve spent so much time together trying to convice everyone that this “RLWC” is a total sham, you with something about crowd numbers or sneering at the heritage of players as the one true, unelected and presumably white arbitrator on who is or isn’t Tongan and me; with the far more compelling argument that this “RLWC” means nothing if they can’t get the 40m line markings exactly correct (the ones in today’s game were at +0.5 and -359.6 degrees! Can you imagine that level of amateurism at our mighty Rugby World Cup!) And while it seems like nothing’s working, people still enjoy this “RLWC” and millions of “sheeple” still watch it on TV; we’re still fighting on, and, while I don’t understand why you need to use different names because it’s the exact same people who always recognise you and, just between you and me, don’t seem to care about anything you could ever have to say, I know that we represent the silent majority! Those millions of people at home, watching the games ironically but are too afraid to complain anonymously on a sports website because they’ll just be bullied by the vocal minority of people having a good time, like Justin, or Sleiman, or the rest of the people who comment on these pages. We’re on the right side of History! You’ll see!
Zac Jones
Roar Rookie
Daniel the Kangaroos struggle to get 20k at a World Cup.. Its not registering in your head is it?? The Tickets are dirt cheap compared to the big proper World Cups yet still no interest
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Reread my replies Scott. If you like to imagine that rugby league is some kind of sporting juggernaut then basically every criticism of your becomes nonsensical. The reason? Rugby league does not have a huge and influential international presence. And then what? Does that mean that matches shouldn't be played? Tournaments featuring nations that do have domestic leagues shouldn't be organised? All of your criticisms amount to nothing because you can't claim that league isn't big enough to fill stadiums in its 'cute tournament' and then complain when they don't fill stadiums. It's not a massive world sport and its Test match crowds are more or less consistent according to tier, tournament and promotion. Thanks for playing.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
Its a union fan run site, that's why
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
Another Thread allowed to be ruined by all these BS union wankers. Congrats Roar!
Jacko
Guest
What a total load of BS...What does Aus do for NZ league ...Oh thats right they allow them to host an Anzac test once every 12 years...Effing generous fatherless children.......They plunder the Union juniors straight from school on massive contracts for teens to prop up a 16 team domestic comp because AUs dont have enough talent to fill a comp of decent quality and we now have over 40% of the NRL is non Australian......Then they split NZ into 5 teams at a WC...Load of BS
Jacko
Guest
Yeah I think 50,000 at a dead rubber Union test outdoes 9500 at a cruicial League test...Geez the Abs reggie reserves got 60,000 v a french selection side last week.......
Jacko
Guest
To play NFL
Jacko
Guest
Republican, Scott, Fred...Just in....Crowds are down across the board in almost all sports in Aus...A-League...League.....Union...all except AFL from what I see....Crowds in NZ are also down..... However its as tho those people are watching TV because the sports are still getting loads of $$$ from sponsors
Jacko
Guest
Its because they have an OFF COACH
Concerned Observer
Guest
I know you’re grieving right now Republican and I apologise if I misinterpreted but that comment came dangerously close to “Gee, I hate it when people from smaller and/or developing nations get access to the same opportunities” New Zealand’s a big boy, the concept that they’re little underdogs is ridiculous because the “little guy punching above his weight” doesn’t work when they do it on a routine basis The squad in this world cup had the talent and skill to crush Australia yet you can’t do that when you show such utter contempt and disregard for supposedly lesser teams. 2 weeks in a row they turned up just expecting to walk over the line and 2 weeks in a row they were ambushed by teams that played with passion and pride in the jersey they were chosen to represent. The attitude of Tonga and Fiji isn’t so alien. It wasn’t so long ago that NZ was displaying that same self belief, moulded by talent and pride. It allowed them to dominate a team filled with supposed future immortals like they were total ameteurs but now it’s gone and it’s clear that the Kiwi’s have stagnated, possibly even since the 2014 four nations while their rivals have evolved and surpassed them There’s no point in disowning them or Navel gazing Republican, this is the opportunity to stick with them as they hopefully get it stuck in their heads that turning up is no longer good enough and they need to change
republican
Guest
.......what dream is that exactly?