THE Vodafone Fijiana XV successfully defended their Oceania Women’s Rugby Championship title after a commanding 60-7 victory over Samoa Women XV at 4R Stadium at Govind Park yesterday.
The home side made a blistering start, asserting dominance early with strong ball control and relentless attacking phases.
Their efforts paid off as they ran in four first-half tries through Manuqalo Komaitai, Merewarita Neivoha, Tiana Robanakadavu and Aqela Raitubu.
Fullback Litiana Vueti was instrumental with the boot, adding two penalties and a conversion as Fijiana took a comfortable 27-0 lead into the halftime break.
Fijiana continued where they left off in the second spell, with Raitubu grabbing her second try before Vueti added the extras. The backline remained dangerous throughout, with Vika Nakacia crossing for the sixth try, again converted by Vueti.
A brief setback came when Robanakadavu was sin-binned, reducing Fijiana to 14 players. Samoa capitalised on the numerical advantage, with Machiko Fepuleai scoring their lone try, converted by Harmony Vatau.
However, Fijiana quickly regrouped and resumed control of the match. Sulita Waisega and Raitubu, who completed her hat-trick, added further tries before Komaitai powered over for her second to seal the dominant win. Vueti continued her accurate kicking display, adding conversions to cap off an impressive individual performance.
Fijiana captain Alfreda Fisher praised her team’s effort and acknowledged the support from fans.
“Thank you to the fans for coming out in numbers. Good job to our girls, it was a great effort,” she said.
The victory cements Fiji’s position as the top women’s rugby side in the Oceania region.
