Fiji exits with pride
OITA, Japan - Fiji coach John McKee said the Pacific islanders could leave the Rugby World Cup with their heads held high after showing their quality in a 29-17 defeat by Wales on Wednesday.
The Flying Fijians gave the Six Nations champions a fright at Oita Stadium when 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 credit to all of the players,” New Zealander McKee told reporters.
“What was pleasing was that we had an opportunity on the world stage to show what this team is capable of.
“We had to really attack Wales and had to back ourselves to score tries. We chanced our arm a little bit and backed our attacking play, and put them under pressure to see how they reacted, and for large parts of the game that worked very well for us.”
While Fiji showcased their powerful running game and rugby league convert Semi Radradra sparkled on the wing to earn the playerof-the-match award in a losing team, the islanders fell victim to familiar problems.
They were dominated by the Wales forwards at set pieces, were unable to build pressure through phases and their defence was often suspect.
They also drew two yellow cards and had two tries disallowed because of a forward passes, while flyhalf Ben Volavola failed to hurt Wales on the scoreboard by missing all his conversion attempts. Fiji bow out with a solitary win over Georgia but will most rue their shock loss to emerging rugby nation Uruguay which halted their momentum after a promising opening performance in defeat to twice-champions Australia.
To take it to such a good Welsh team is credit to all of the players ... what was pleasing was that we had an opportunity on the world stage to show what this team is capable of. Dr Mahendra Reddy