Australia's Marika Koroibete, who was born in Fiji, scores their sixth try during Saturday's 39-21 victory for the Wallabies. Reuters
Australia's Marika Koroibete, who was born in Fiji, scores their sixth try during Saturday's 39-21 victory for the Wallabies. Reuters
Australia's Marika Koroibete, who was born in Fiji, scores their sixth try during Saturday's 39-21 victory for the Wallabies. Reuters
Australia's Marika Koroibete, who was born in Fiji, scores their sixth try during Saturday's 39-21 victory for the Wallabies. Reuters

Rugby World Cup 2019: Fiji's defeat to Australia shows why Pacific Island nations will never progress


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What chance, really, have Fiji got? Or, for that matter, any of the Pacific Island nations who give so much to rugby, yet have no realistic chance of ever getting on?

If the scouts from the rich countries don’t get them, then the World Rugby residency rules will.

Or if the eligibility criteria doesn’t, then the fixtures computer will. Or if the fixtures computer doesn’t, then the match officials will.

Australia beat Fiji 39-21 on a captivating second day of the Rugby World Cup. Those are the bare facts, and the only ones that matter.

It was fine fare, too, with the plucky underdogs sticking it to the two-time World Cup winners for a good hour.

There was so much to it to celebrate, everything that is good about rugby. Dig a little deeper, though, and this fixture was emblematic of all that is wrong about the game, too.

In all, 31 points were scored by Fiji-born players. And yet those touched down by Marika Koroibete and Samu Kerevi counted for Australia instead. Tolu Latu, who scored two of Australia’s other tries, was born in Tonga.

When he left Fiji to take up a professional contract in Australian rugby league in 2011, Koroibete’s whole village of Naraiyawa, near the centre of Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island, celebrated.

“I had lost hope,” his father was quoted as saying at the time, revealing that his son had skipped his school exams to try to make a go of becoming a rugby league player.

That move abroad secured his financial future, and – safe to assume – that of his family, too.

Playing Test rugby in a different code for Australia some time in the future probably never even figured in their thinking back then.

Eight years on, Koroibete was playing a key role in denying the country of his birth what would have been a famous World Cup win. Goon on him, but it is a sour take on the fairy tale.

Kerevi, for his part, said in the build up that all his family were going to be supporting the Wallabies – or at least “backing the Fijians in our team”. Even though his Japan-based older brother Josua had helped the Fiji team prepare in the week leading up to it.

Now the job is done, Australia have eight days to recover before they face their next big test, against Wales on Sunday September 29. Fiji? A four-day turnaround before they play Uruguay.

New Zealand, after their clash of the titans against South Africa? Eleven days off. The Springboks themselves? A week.

Sure, their fixtures will bunch up at some point, too. South Africa, for example, have four days between their last two fixtures, but against Italy and Canada? They will probably cope.

Then consider the officiating of the seminal incident of the match, when Reece Hodge, the wing who scored 10 points himself for Australia, blocked Peceli Yato, the rampaging Fijian flanker. Replays showed Reece had made a high tackle, making contact with Yato’s head in the process.

Fiji’s Peceli Yato scores a try against Australia during the Rugby World Cup Pool D game on Saturday. The winger would later go off with concussion after a poor challenge Reece Hodge that went unpunished by the referee. AP
Fiji’s Peceli Yato scores a try against Australia during the Rugby World Cup Pool D game on Saturday. The winger would later go off with concussion after a poor challenge Reece Hodge that went unpunished by the referee. AP

The referee and his assistant were up with play, and well positioned to see the incident.

Given the pace the play was moving at, they could be forgiven for if they wanted guidance from their television colleague. And yet none came. Not to affirm foul play had happened, at least.

Many observers suggested a red card would likely have been shown had the defender been a Pacific Islander, and even the most dispassionate could not square the equation.

Ross Tucker, a South African sports scientist who is part of the World Rugby task force attempting make rugby a safer sport, immediately took to social media to suggest Fiji had, in fact, been wronged.

He ticked off the World Rugby directives for such collisions, and concluded it had been worthy of a red. “I also don't know why it wasn't referred,” Tucker wrote.

There could be retrospective action taken. Hodge could yet face a ban ranging anywhere from three weeks to more than 10. But what good does that do Fiji now?

The biog

First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974  
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At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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Sole survivors
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Defending champions

World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
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Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
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UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421,  Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day. 

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champioons League semi-final, first leg:

Liverpool 5
Salah (35', 45 1'), Mane (56'), Firmino (61', 68')

Roma 2
Dzeko (81'), Perotti (85' pen)

Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

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