Flying Fijians exit Rugby World Cup with pride

Fiji coach John Mckee said his team could leave the Rugby World Cup with its head held high after showing its quality in a 29-17 loss to Wales Wednesday.

The Flying Fijians gave the Six Nations champions a fright at Oita Stadium in Japan after they snatched the lead in the second half, but late tries for hat-trick hero Josh Adams and fullback Liam Williams saw the Welsh home.

“To take it to such a good Welsh team is a credit to all of the players,” New Zealander Mckee said.

“What was pleasing was that we had an opportunity on the world stage to show what this team is capable of.”

While Fiji showcased its powerful running game and rugby league convert Semi Radradra sparkled on the wing to earn player of the match, the team fell victim to familiar problems.

It was dominated by the Welsh forwards on set pieces, was unable to build pressure through phases and its defence was often suspect. Fiji also drew two yellow cards and had two tries disallowed due to forward passes, while flyhalf Ben Volavola failed to hurt Wales on the scoreboard by missing all his conversion attempts.

Fiji bowed out with a solitary win over Georgia, but will mostly rue its shock loss to emerging Uruguay, which halted its momentum after a promising opening performance in defeat to two-time champion Australia.

With the Wallabies expected to be too strong for Georgia when they play Friday, Fiji is likely to hold onto third place in Pool D and book automatic qualification for the next World Cup in France.

With Fiji’s last trip to the quarter-finals in 2007 growing more distant, Mckee was disappointed it had failed to reach the knockouts for a third successive World Cup.