Fiji 17 Samoa 31

Samoa kicked off their Pacific Rim campaign with a 31-17 win over a passionless Fiji at Apia Park Saturday.

Tanner Vili opened the scoring for the Samoans in the first minute with a penalty, followed soon after by the first try of the match as a neat interception by Filemu saw Trevor Leota feeding winger Lome Faatau with an in-pass for an easy touchdown.

Nicky Little replied with a penalty for the Fijians, but a Samoan scrum towards the end of the half saw Tom Curtis scramble over from close in to put the Samoans ahead 15-3 at half-time.

Fiji arrived here full of confidence, having won both their games in the Pacific Rim tournament.

In contrast, Samoa were playing their first game of the tournament with a youthful team that coach John Boe called an "unknown quantity" after nine first choice players withdrew due to overseas contractual commitments.

Yet it was the inexperienced Samoans who looked the more assured and better organised team in the first half, particularly in defence.

Commanding midfield performances from Vaaiga Tuigamala and Too Vaega made it difficult for the Fijians to feed their wingers, with Marika Vunibaka seeing little of the ball.

"I was very pleased because the game was won through courage and passion and that was what we had to do to keep out an extremely good Fijian side," said John Boe.

Samoa extended their lead early in the second half through tries by Semo Sititi after a strong drive by Trevor Leota, followed shortly by Isaac Feaunati striding over after Fiji mis-cued a lineout throw-in to the back close to their tryline.

Down 25-3 in the last quarter, Fiji rallied themselves for an effort which saw them swing the Samoan defence down both flanks before Isaia Rasila powered through unchallenged.

A drive saw captain Simon Raiwula score a consolation try, but he was disappointed that such ball retention had been so sporadic during the match.

"We didn't retain the ball and that was why we lost," said Raiwula.  "You can't really put your game together if you are not retaining possession," he said, referring to several incidents where the ball had been spilled in the tackle.

The Fijians also showed a decided lack of commitment, only rallying briefly when the game was out of reach.  "I think they played with a lot more authority than we did right throughout the game," said Fiji coach Greg Smith.  "I thought they were a 20-point better team than we were," he said.

Asked whether the crisis in Fiji affected his players psychologically, Smith said, "I wouldn't use that as an excuse."

The Teams:

Fiji:  1 Paula Biu, 2 Isaia Rasila, 3 Joeli Veitayaki, 4 Emori Katalau, 5 Simon Raiwalui (c), 6 Sailosi Naiteqe, 7 Jope Tuikabe, 8 Inoke Male, 9 Jacob Rauluni, 10 Nicky Little, 11 Norman Ligairi, 12 Saimoni Rokini, 13 Kameli Tilalati, 14 Marika Vunibaka, 15 Jonetani Waqa
Reserves:  Peniasi Damu, Alifereti Doviverata, Sirilo Lala Ragata, Jolame Nadolo, Ilaitia Tuisese

Referee:  Iwashita s.

Points Scorers:

Fiji
Tries:  Rasila I. 1, Raiwalui S.V. 1
Conv:  Little N.T. 2
Pen K.:  Little N.T. 1