Fiji break 52-year dry spell with decisive win over Ma¯ori
Fiji have beaten the Ma¯ori All Blacks for the first time in more than 60 years with a 27-10 win in Suva.
Led by two tries to centre Waisea Nayacalevu, the Fijian side were too strong for the visitors and claimed their first win over their Ma¯ori counterparts since their 17-8 victory in Dunedin in 1957.
The Fijian side set the tone from the outset as they moved the ball freely and ran with conviction.
With a strong wind at their backs, the hosts were quick to get on the front foot and force the visitors to defend.
Fiji made the most of an average kicking game from the visitors to keep the pressure on and were rewarded in the 21st minute when speedy fullback Alifereti Veitokani was sent through a hole in the defence by first five-eighth Ben Volavola.
The side extended their lead to 12 soon after when No 8 Vili Mata breezed past a weak tackle attempt by his opposite Akira Ioane and outmuscled to cover defence to plant the ball in the corner.
A yellow card to first five-eighth Otere Black in the dying stages of the first half put the Ma¯ori All Blacks further on the back foot, as they headed into the halftime break facing a 12-point deficit.
With Black on the sidelines for the first seven minutes of the second half, Fiji made the most of the one-man advantage with Nayacalevu crossing for his first try and Volavola kicking a conversion and a penalty to accumulate a point for every minute Black was in the sin bin. Two tries to left winger Sean Wainui gave the Ma¯ori All Blacks some hope late in the contest, but Fiji proved to be too good and sealed their eighth-straight win in Suva.
“We really struggled in that first half to really make our tackles,” Ma¯ori All Blacks captain Ash Dixon said. “The Fijian boys played some awesome footy and their offload game was pretty good.
“We didn’t really exit that well either so we gave them some good opportunities with ball in hand and we couldn’t apply any pressure ourselves. So it was really disappointing for us, we’ve got a lot of things that we need to get right.
“We’ve got a fair bit to work on. I’d say our defence will be one of the first things we’re going to have to start with but, in saying that, there were some good phases there we put together and went all right, but we didn’t apply enough pressure on to the Fijian side and cherish the ball enough.”
The sides will meet again on Saturday in Rotorua.