Fiji open Oceania XVs with win

The Oceania Rugby Championships commenced with a thrilling display of athleticism as Fiji triumphed over Tonga with a decisive 48-3 victory, scoring 8 tries in the first round at Sunnybank Rugby Union Club in Brisbane.

Fiji's dominant performance set a high standard for the tournament, showcasing their skill and determination to secure a place in the 2025 World Rugby Cup.

Fiji Captain, Karalaini Naisewa said they were excited about the game they played.

“It’s not the game plan we had, but we will try and come out next week at a higher level. We would like to improve on our game plan and our structure and also to keep dominating with our defence,” Naisewa said.

“It’s just one game at a time, as we try and first win this competition to qualify for the World Cup so we are treating every game as a final so first things first as we look forward to all the upcoming games,” she added.

Tonga Captain, Vineta Teutau acknowledged the tough match but remained optimistic.

“We are really grateful to be given this opportunity to play for the Oceania Rugby Championship. It’s definitely a fitness game against Fiji but they’re pretty quick compared to our girls. It’s a good start for us as most of us are debutants for Tonga and I’m just really proud for each and everyone of them for taking on this game against the Fijiana,” Teutau said.

“We definitely will look back at the game and see what we can learn, the mistakes and what we can work on and just work of that,” she added.

As an update, the second match of Round one between Samoa and Papua New Guinea was cancelled due to unforeseen travel issues otherwise preventing the Papua New Guinea team from arriving on time.

Looking ahead to the second round, Fiji will face Papua New Guinea, and Samoa will take on Tonga. Fiji will aim to continue their winning streak, while Tonga will look to bounce back and make a strong statement against Samoa.