Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Blowout triumphs by Japan and defending champion Fiji in Sunday’s Pacific Nations Cup semi-finals set the stage for a rematch of last year’s final. Japan had tries from Tongan-born Amato Fakatava, Hayate Era, captain Warner Dearns, Dylan Riley, Shinobu Fujiwara, and reserves Kenji Sato and Keijiro Tamefusa in a 62-24 rout of Tonga at Denver, Colorado. Fiji ripped Canada 63-10 behind a Kalaveti Ravouvou hat trick to join Japan in next Saturday’s final at Salt Lake City, Utah.
“They will be fast. We’ll be ready. We’ll prepare for that,” Fiji coach Mick Byrne said. “We’ve got a few things to focus on ourselves. We know we’re going to be in for a battle next week.” Fiji rolled over Japan 41-17 in last year’s final. “Fiji beat us pretty easily last year so we’ve got a lot to work on,” Japan coach Eddie Jones said. “And a short period of time to get ready.” Ravouvou and Fiji captain Tevita Ikanivere were already looking to the championship showdown. “It will be a good game,” Ravouvou said. “Japan is a good team as well and they will be prepared.” “Quality side, very fast-paced team,” Ikanivere said of Japan. “We’ll enjoy the win tonight then prepare to play them again in America.”
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Byrne was concerned over yellow and red cards after Fiji seized a huge lead. “We started with some vigor and some real good intent,” he said. “We lost the way a little with the discipline but we still managed to score some points.” Fiji cruised to a 43-3 halftime lead on two tries from Taniela Rakuro and one each by Mesake Vocevoce, Etonia Waqa, Ravouvou, and Eroni Mawi plus Kemueli Valetini’s penalty and five conversions. The speedy Japanese only led 21-19 at halftime but were relentless in scoring five second-half tries to dispatch Tonga, which has not beaten Japan since the 2015 Cup third-place match.
“Against Tonga it’s always going to be a physical game,” Dearns said. “We were able to match them and able to play our rugby, which gave us a bit of an advantage.” “Next week is going to be very physical again but we’re going to review some good points and bad points, and we’re going to do our best,” Japan tight-head prop Shuhei Takeuchi said through a translator. All four semi-finalists are qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, and 2031 Rugby World Cup host United States qualified as well by beating Samoa 29-13 in the fifth-place match. The US Eagles advanced after failing to qualify for the 2023 World Cup in France. Samoa will face Chile next weekend at Salt Lake City and on September 27 in Santiago in a two-game playoff series for a World Cup spot.
– ‘Really disappointed’ – Fotu Lokotui’s try in the sixth minute put Tonga ahead, but Era and Fakatava tries put Japan ahead to stay. Tonga captain Ben Tameifuna scored in the 26th minute, Dearns answered with a Japan try, but Veikoso Poloniati’s try in the 38th minute pulled Tonga within two at halftime. Tries by Riley and Fujiwara and two penalty kicks by Lee Seung-sin helped Japan pull away early in the second half. “Just really disappointed,” Tonga’s Tameifuna said. “We got points in the first half. We just didn’t build on it in the second half.”
For Fiji, Rakuro scored a try in the fourth minute, Vocevoce added another in the ninth for a 14-3 lead, and four more tries boosted the margin to 40 points after 40 minutes. Ravouvou completed his hat trick with tries in the 57th and 66th minutes.
© 2024 AFP
