Fiji focus switches to Wales

RUGBY LEAGUE: Fiji is already being talked up as Rugby League World Cup dark horses but the Bati are determined to quash any notion they will roll through Wales this weekend.

The Bati ran riot for much of Saturday night’s World Cup clash against the US at 1300 SMILES Stadium, scoring 11 tries to the US’s two in a David v Goliath battle that unfolded exactly the way pundits expected, with Fiji winning 58-12.

Fiji were far from perfect, as coach Mick Potter conceded after full-time, but they still showed enough to demonstrate why the big three of Australia, New Zealand and England are treating them with due respect.

Suni Vunivalu, Taane Milne and captain Kevin Naiqama scored doubles for Fiji, who raced to a 38-6 half-time lead before easing back on the throttle after half time to score four more tries before full-time

Even a relatively quiet night from Jarryd Hayne, who scored early in the second half thanks to a bust up the middle by Akuila Uate, could not stop the Bati, who have made the semi-finals of the past two World Cups.

“Obviously we want to win the World Cup but we’re not looking past next week,” Naiqama said. “It’s back to the drawing board on Monday. We came out and gave respect to the USA, we knew they were going to be a tough side and we wanted to start fast, that was our main focus all week.

“The boys did really well for our first game, but in saying that there’s a lot of things we can work on.”

Fiji prop Kane Evans is out of the tournament after suffering a broken arm during the first half, with the injury done while scoring his 18th-minute try.

The Bati play Wales on Sunday as part of a World Cup double-header at 1300 SMILES Stadium also featuring the US v Italy.