Discipline remains a significant concern for the FIJI Water Flying Fijians despite their impressive 50-19 victory over Tonga in the Pacific Nations Cup. The match saw debutant inside centre Adrea Cocagi receive a red card in the first half after a shoulder charge on a Tongan player during a ruck, while Fiji was leading 19-0. Cocagi’s ejection allowed Tonga to fight back and equalize at 19-19 before halftime.
Coach Mick Byrne addressed the discipline issues following the game, noting, “In the first half, we seemed to panic a little bit. It felt like we were chasing the game instead of controlling it.” He praised the team for their performance in the second half, where they regained composure and secured victory by scoring three unanswered tries after leading 26-19 at the break.
Byrne emphasized that there is room for growth for this young team as they prepare for the playoffs, pointing out that most players are in their third year of professional rugby and are still learning about their development and preparation.
Fiji will face the loser of the Japan-USA match in the semi-finals of the tournament in Japan next Saturday.