Vodafone Fijiana XV head coach Mosese Rauluni expressed disappointment after his team’s 17-45 defeat to Manusina Samoa. The loss marked a setback for Fiji, who have dropped to third place in the standings with five points, while Samoa has climbed to second with seven points.
This victory was particularly important for Samoa as they aim to qualify for the Women’s Rugby World Cup next year, following a prior defeat to Fiji in the Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship in June.
In a post-match interview, Rauluni acknowledged that his team was outperformed throughout the match. He stated, “We trained so well this week, but we didn’t take it on the field.” He pointed out that Fiji failed to make the most of their chances and incurred costly errors.
Though Fiji attempted to mount a comeback in the second half, Samoa extended their lead with reliable kicking from Cassie Siataga. Rauluni noted the need to analyze their mistakes, emphasizing, “There are a lot of things we need to work on and that needs to be addressed.” He admitted that poor game management had been a recurring issue in their recent matches against Scotland and the Netherlands.
“We had a lot of errors yesterday. We cannot keep repeating it again and again because it’s costly in a high tempo game like this,” he added.
The team will have a week to regroup before facing table leaders Spain in their next match on Sunday. Rauluni acknowledged the challenge ahead, saying, “Spain is a good team and we know the task is huge. We will go back and work towards getting back on track to win the next game.”
In the match, Fijiana fullback Luisa Tisolo scored two tries, while captain Karalaini Naisewa added another. Tisolo converted Naisewa’s try. Samoa scored six tries, with three conversions and three penalties.
Previously, Vodafone Fijiana XV secured a strong 38-3 victory over Hong Kong China, while Samoa managed an 8-all draw against the Netherlands. Following their upcoming match, the Fijiana will have two Test matches against Scotland in England in November.