Manusina Samoa delivered a stunning performance, defeating the Vodafone Fijiana 15s 45-17 at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, a marked improvement from their recent draw with the Netherlands.
The match began with a rapid attack from Samoa, initiated by scrum-half France Bloomfield, leading to the first try by Linda Fiafia just three minutes in. Although Cassie Siataga missed the conversion, she quickly added a penalty, giving Samoa an early eight-point lead.
Fiji responded around ten minutes later when number eight Karalaini Naisewa scored from a strong scrum, and Luisa Tisolo converted, narrowing the gap to one point. However, Samoa quickly regained control as Ana Mamea scored another try, with Siataga converting to push the lead back to eight points. Before halftime, Siataga added two more penalties, sending the teams into the break with Samoa ahead 21-7.
Fiji’s Adita Milinia had a try disallowed for obstruction just before halftime, but Tisolo sparked hope for Fiji early in the second half with a converted try, reducing the deficit to seven points. Unfortunately for Fiji, Tisolo was soon shown a yellow card, which proved costly.
During their player advantage, Samoa capitalized, scoring through Karla Wright-Akeli and Bloomfield, with Bloomfield adding another try later in the match. Tisolo managed to score again for Fiji, but it was too little too late as Easter Savelio capped off Samoa’s victory with a sixth try, sealing a dominant win for Manusina Samoa.