WHO says Fiji hasn’t defeated England? Yes, we have.
Our Fiji B team made the impossible possible when we played the touring Five Nations champions at Lautoka’s Churchill Park on July 16, 1991 beating the Englishmen 27-13 in front of more than 6000 fans.
But three days later the Englishmen made amends for the loss, winning 28-12.
Some might say England was a second string team but the kingdom had sent its finest warriors to battle in the Pacific with players such as winger Ian Hunter, lock Nigel Redman, who partnered with giant lock Martin Bayfield, who, stood at 2. 8 metres tall, second five-eighth Simon Halliday, fullback Jonathan Webb, No.8 Mick Skinner, halfback Dewi Morris, second five-eighth Jeremy Guscott, Nigel Heslop, Simon Hodgkinson, flyhalf David Pears and many other top players faced defeat at the hands of the Fijians.
Fiji also laced with some big names such as Ifereimi Tawake, Mosese Taga, Epeli Naituivau, Pauliasi Tabulutu, Waisale Serevi, Dranivesi Baleiwai, Aisake Nadolo, Savenaca Aria, Mesake Rasari, Vesi Rauluni, Asaeli Hughes, Salacieli Naivilawasa, Pita Naruma and Mosese Vosanibole proved a thorn in the English armour.
And the man in charge of the game was Fijian referee Laiakini Colati, who showed no mercy to his own brothers.
Colati gave his countryman and solid Nadi centre, 6″1′, 95kg Aria his marching orders after the Nawaka man committed his second stiff-arm tackle on English winger Hunter in the dying minutes of the match. Hunter was hurt and needed medical attention.
Aria, who was dropped from the World Cup squad, was recalled into the second string team after his superb performance in the Farebrother challenge, cementing his place in the coaches Samisoni Viriviri and George Simpkin’s side.
Seven’s orchestrator, Waisale Serevi played a pivotal role scoring 19 of Fiji’s 27 points from a try, a drop goal, two penalties and three conversions which secured his spot at the RWC hosted jointly by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France.
England opened the score-sheets in the 5th minute of play after Aria was penalised for the stiff-arm tackle giving Webb an easy shot at goal for a three point lead but in the 17th minute Serevi replied with his own style of kicking to level the points.
The English forward pack time and again formed rolling mauls and tried to push the Fijians back but were time and again denied but in the 26th minute of play the Englishmen finally found their rhythm and Skinner dived over for their first try of the match but the conversion was missed by Webb. Fiji trailed 3-7.
In the 29th minute Nadolo was penalised for not releasing the ball and Webb had no problems splitting the uprights for a 10-3 lead.
Again the Fijian forwards were penalised and Webb slotted his third penalty to increase the lead 13-3.
It seemed like the English warriors were running away with the game when the referee called for a breather? England maintaining their 13-3 lead.
Who would have known the second spell would see true Fijian flair when in the 7th pint-sized half back Vosanibole stole from the English scrum and well supported by Fiji loosemen Tawake and Pio Kubuwai who delivered the ball out to the wizard to score Fiji’s first try and also adding the extra two points for a 9-13 chase.
Serevi was in his own league converting a penalty to add extra three points to trail 12-13.
The Englishmen tried hard to cross the Fijian line but time and again the Fijian defence stood rock solid.
Impossible started to look possible when the little maestro, pulled another trick from his rugby books, to split the uprights with a brilliant drop goal to increase Fiji’s lead to 15-13.
And it seemed like a fairytale ending to more than 6000 Fijian fans witnessing true Fijian flair at its best when Vosanibole scored Fiji’s second try, and the final nail was hammered in the English coffin by Tawake in the 37th, when Tomasi Lovo, who drew the line of the English defence before unloading to an unmarked Tawake to seal the famous victory but the game was not yet over, there was one last play of the match left. The stiff-arm tackle in the 42nd minute of the match saw referee Colati giving Aria his marching orders for a dangerous tackle on Hunter.
In the 1991 Rugby World Cup, England finished runners-up to Australia and New Zealand were placed third.
That year, we lost all our games, first, we went down to Canada 3-13, then France hammered us 33-9 and in the final pool match we went down to Romania 15-17.
