The Flying Fijians are one game away from defending the Pacific Nations Cup. The Mick Byrne coached side fought gallantly to beat a determined USA (United States of America) team 22-3 in the semi-final in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday night.

The Flying Fijians will play the winner of the JapanSamoa semi-final clash (played late last night when this edition went to press) in Osaka, Japan, on Sunday.

“Job’s not done yet,” Byrne said after the semi-final.

“We will go back and look at our mistakes and prepare ourselves for the final.”

The wily coach said it was a tough game and they had expected USA to put up a great fight.

“Credit to the boys for getting the job done. It was tough but we managed to get what we prepared for,” said Flying Fijians No.10 Caleb Muntz.

The elusive playmaker took over as captain after Tevita Ikanivere was yellow-carded.

The dual playmaking role of Muntz and rookie fullback Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula looked promising as they punched holes in the opposition defence. Ikanivere struggled early in the game after several of his lineout throws failed to finds its mark. He was later yellow carded for dangerous clear-out.

Handling errors continued to plague Fiji and gave the USA attacking opportunities, but as the half wore on, converting those opportunities into points looked less and less likely thanks to Fiji’s strong defence. Their strong tackles took its toll on the Americans and the heat didn’t help. The Flying Fijians dominated the scrums.

“It’s great to see our players work hard in crucial moments in the game. Especially Elia (Canakaivata), he did a great job indeed,” Byrne said.

Tonga eyes World Cup

Tonga extended their winning run against Canada to five matches to end their competition on a positive note in the fifth-place play-off.

After a slow start – the first five minutes were played deep in their own half – ‘Ikale Tahi, marshalled by player- of-the-match Patrick Pellegrini at 10, showed how dangerous they can be with ball in hand, as they scored a  30-17 win.

Flanker Siosiua Moala scored the game’s first try from a 5m lineout maul after 10 minutes. Winger John Tapueluelu then beat three defenders to add a spectacular finish to another lineout strike move five minutes later.

After Canada’s veteran hooker Andrew Quattrin cut the deficit, Josiah Unga extended Tonga’s lead again, Pellegrini’s pop pass giving him all the room he needed to dive over to give Tonga a 19-10 advantage at the break.

The Maple Leafs dominated the second period – but, for all their pressure, scored just once, when Takoda McMullin touched down 13 minutes from time, as Tonga’s defence clicked at the right time.

And Tapueluelu finished the match with a deserved second touchdown.

“After all our efforts in the last couple of weeks, I think we deserved a win,” Tonga captain Ben Tameifuna said after the match.

“The boys worked hard for it. This is a stepping stone for ‘Ikale Tahi – our main objective is the World Cup in Australia.”

Feedback: josua.buredua@fijisun.com.fj