The Kiwis entered as heavy favourites but an inspired Fiji performance produced the best game of the Rugby League World Cup so far.
Fiji showed an ability to get up the field in the very first set of the game as they set the tone for what ended up as an inspired performance in the middle. As New Zealand did the same in response, the match moved into an early arm wrestle.
For anybody that thought Fiji would go down easy, it became clear that they came in with a game plan and were prepared to stick with it for the full 80 minutes.
Fiji looked left in attack when in a position to strike. With Api Koroisau playing at five-eighth, he linked up nicely with Viliame Kikau as the pair worked to make the most of their combination at club level. It was the Panthers pair that created the first try of the night. Running it on the last, Koroisau shaped to kick before finding Kikau out the back of a block shape. Kikau’s silky hands moved the ball to Maika Sivo on the wing and the wrecking ball was never going to be stopped from there.
Discipline continued to hurt the Kiwis with a third penalty out of yardage providing Fiji with another opportunity to attack. Looking right this time, Kevin Naiqama hit a perfect line to take a perfect Sunia Turuva short ball and push the lead out to 12-0.
The Kiwis didn’t look complacent in their start. Rather, Fiji played out the opening 20 minutes just as they drew it up: Strong in yardage, looking to their best players in attack, and disciplined in defence.
A Fijian error soon provided the Kiwis with an opportunity of their own in attack. Taking the chance to show their class with the ball, Ronaldo Mulitalo finished off a simple left shift from a mid-field scrum as Jahrome Hughes swept around the scrum to connect with Dylan Brown.
It took a Turuva try-saver to stop the Kiwis from levelling the scores shortly after the Mulitalo try. Breaking into the backfield Mulitalo appeared to have sent Brown under the posts before a scrambling Turuva chopped his legs with a Joseph Manu error to follow. Lamar Manuel-Liolevave did similar to dislodge the ball as Joseph Tapine looked to score in the 32nd minute.
Again, Fiji came up with the big plays when they needed it and held their lead through to halftime.
The big question at halftime centred around whether or not Fiji could keep up this level of intensity – particularly in defence – for the full 80 minutes. We’d seen the class of the Kiwis when given the chance. They wouldn’t need many to take control of the match.
The clunky Kiwis attack continued into the second half. Hughes, in particular, struggled to connect on his passes down the right edge and couldn’t reproduce his performance against Ireland earlier in the Rugby League World Cup. A ball to ground and an ill-advised Jordan Rapana attempted offload turned the ball over on halfway, and Fiji retook their 12-point lead.
Naiqama spotted Brown all alone at marker, sent him to the long side and darted down the short side to score a beauty.
A silly Fijian penalty allowed the Kiwis to spend a full set attacking the line. Manu looked dangerous down the left edge and Nelson Asofa-Solomona went close on a rampaging carry. The Fijian line appeared to be holding up before Semi Valemei’s inexperience saw him release from the tackle to allow Koroisau to attempt a strip. Koroisau is an expert in stripping the ball, but it’s not the part of the field to look to execute one.
With one much smaller defender hanging off him, Briton Nikora crashed over to bring the Kiwis back to within a converted try.
James Fisher-Harris’ reintroduction to the game changed things for the Kiwis. His carries through the middle set the tone before his strength and work rate in defence secured the line and pinned Fiji deep in their own half. A Brandon Wakeham try-saver stopped Mulitalo from scoring his second but another Fisher-Harris-inspired set in defence forced Fiji to kick from inside their own half. The Kiwis were beginning to take control of the game, but as Mulitalo fumbled the kick and watched the ball go dead in-goal, the pressure came off.
Fiji entered the final 20 minutes having kicked from inside their own 40-metre line to finish four of the last five sets. New Zealand’s advantage in the middle started to show and it’s in the middle where a Tapine carry acted as a trigger to a left shift for Manu to score. Some late footwork allowed the big prop to poke his head through and earn a quick play-the-ball. With the defence compressed, the Kiwis found space down the edge with Manu pushing up to level the scores at 18-all in the 63rd minute.
Back-to-back captains challenges returned reversed decisions at crucial periods. A Fiji knock on became a penalty and kick out of yardage. Soon after, a Kiwis knock-on became a strip and allowed Rapana to kick his side to a 20-18 lead with nine minutes to play.
The Kiwis had turned their direct approach into a late lead but went away from what worked after going in front. Two errors in as many sets out of yardage and an unlucky accidental offside gave Fiji their chances. However, a Wakeham error on the first tackle from a scrum changed possession and the Kiwis held on from there. Rapana’s try to finish the game made it 24-18, but all of the credit for an incredible contest goes to Fiji.
Key Takeaways
Sunia Turuva
The Panthers can’t keep them all, and they might find it difficult to keep hold of Sunia Turuva in the coming years. The 20-year-old stood out as the best player on the ground throughout the opening 40 minutes. He charged up the field in yardage and his pass put Naqama over to score Fiji’s second try.
He seemed to be everywhere on both sides of the ball and outplayed his opposite as Fiji took control of the game early on. The Rugby League World Cup is an opportunity for lesser-known players to announce themselves to the game and Turuva did just that tonight.
Kiwis in yardage
The Kiwis pack looked like the best in the world on paper but we’re still yet to see it all come together for 80 minutes. Still, the numbers show just how dominant the Kiwis can be through the middle when the adopt a direct approach early into their sets.
New Zealand ran for 906 metres to Fiji’s 789 metres despite losing the first half. By full time, the Kiwis chalked up 1,991 running metres to Fiji’s 1,433 metres. It’s in yardage on both sides of the ball that the Kiwis were able to take control of the match. They will need to do better against Australia in the semi-final, though. This pack can win the battle in the centre-third but won’t be able to ease their way into the game for 20 minutes like they did tonight.
Isaiah Papali’i to start on the edge in place of Nelson Asofa-Solomona is one change I expect to see next week.
James Fisher-Harris
The game changed for the Kiwis when James Fisher-Harris returned to the field in the 51st minute. In desperate need of a dominating figure in the middle, Fisher-Harris produced.
He carted the ball up the middle to carve out a path for the rest of his pack to follow. In defence, his line speed and contact put a stop to Fiji’s move up the field. Joseph Manu was handed the Man of the Match award for his work in attack. However, it’s Fisher-Harris that changed the game and ended up as the most deserving of the award for me.
Rugby League World Cup Quarter Final Results
Australia 48 def. Lebanon 4
England 46 def. Papua New Guinea 6
New Zealand 24 def. Fiji 18