A late surge by the Fiji Bulikula was not enough as the side went down 12-26 to Fetu Samoa in their Pacific Championship opener at Santos Football Ground in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea yesterday.
The match was played on an afternoon in which temperatures reached 30°C.
It also marked the end of a four-year wait between games for Fiji and was Samoa’s first outing since 2019.
Cowboys NRLW player Vitalina Naikore set the Fijians to a 4-0 lead on six minutes with a try out wide, before Samoa responded with a four-pointer to Eels wing Lindsay Tui.
After a long period of defending on their own line, Samoa backed up with another try to Taylor Mapusua, before former Kiwi Fern Annetta-Claudia Nu’uausala struck a telling blow just before the break with her side’s third.
Samoa led 16-4 at halftime. Fiji enjoyed a couple of strong scoring chances early in the second period and were unlucky not to get over, but soon found themselves further behind after Tui secured her personal double.
Trailing 20-4 with 20 minutes to play, the Fijians then hit go with a pair of tries in quick succession which closed the gap to eight and set up an exciting finish.
First Naikore scored the best try of the day after getting on the end of a clever cross-field kick from Sereana Naitokatoka, before a spirited carry saw Aliti Namoce finish over the line.
Samoa centre Petesa Lio then added to her side’s woes by ending up in the sin bin for a professional foul.
Despite the numerical disadvantage her teammates managed to stem the tide and put the result beyond doubt with a second try to Mapusua inside the final minute.
Fijian captain Josephine Maejiirs said the side had a lot of positive to take from the match.
“Despite the result we are just so proud of the team.
“They played gallantly as we had only one week of preparations together.
“We may have lost, but there are so many winners in our team today,” the Fijian captain said.
