Fiji Juniors edge Italy

June 24, 2012 | Filed under: Fiji Sports | Posted by:

Sevenaia Galala scores against Italy. Photo: Image SA

By MERE NALEBA

Fiji escapes being relegated to Tier Two at the IRB Junior World Championships after beating Italy 19 – 17 in the 11th place playoff in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Fijians played well and led 16-10 at halftime with a try from Sevanaia Galala converted by Tikiko Vuibau.
Italy could have easily secured a spot in the tier one group, but a missed penalty by flyhalf Apperley saw the Fijians pushing them out of the tier one group.
The Italy side had just made a comeback to the top, after winning the tournament in 2010.
Vuibau kicked another penalty for Fiji to claim the win. Fiji has now claimed the 11th place spot in the tournament; this was after Samoa denied them a chance of moving to the ninth place in the tournament.
Meanwhile, South Africa has managed to end New Zealand’s five-year reign in the competition, after being crowned the new champs of the IRB Junior Rugby World Cup.
The hosts were on fire and lived up to expectations securing a 22-16 win against New Zealand.

Shortlink:

Posted by on June 24, 2012. Filed under Fiji Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.