Fijians boot out Kiwis in boilover

FIJI has ended a miserable New Zealand run at the Rugby League World Cup, downing the Kiwis 4-2 in a gritty quarter-final upset in Wellington yesterday.

Just a week after falling 28-22 to Tonga, the Kiwis have been beaten by a second tiertwo side in a low-scoring match they never looked like winning.

Two Apisai Koroisau penalties to a sole Shaun Johnson effort were enough to give the Bati a well-deserved win over a Kiwi team that never managed to get out of first gear.

An error-ridden performance from the Kiwis was comprehensively punished by a Fijian outfit that showed more pace, poise and precision than their lacklustre rivals.

Fiji faces the daunting task of toppling the Kangaroos in next weekend’s Brisbane semifinal. Defending champions Australia thumped Samoa 46-0 in Friday night’s quarterfinal in Darwin.

The early chances went to Fiji, with Brayden Wiliame darting through after five minutes but denied the try when he lost the ball over the line, while Marcelo Montoya also came close 15 minutes later down the left edge.

Fiji’s defence, largely untested during an unbeaten pool run, was never really pressured in the first 40 minutes, the Kiwis their own worst enemies with handling errors and missed tackles.

Reduced to 14 men after Jordan Rapana was binned for slowing the play the ball, the Kiwis were hanging on by a thread as Fiji took a 2-0 lead into the break.