A first-half blitz led by Brandon Wakeham and Apisau Koroisau on the back of a destructive forward pack has helped Fiji romp to a 40-12 win in their World Cup opener against Cook Islands.
Wakeham had three try assists, two line breaks and four tackle breaks to go alongside his astute kicking game and six goals off the tee, while Koroisau was at his instrumental best from dummy half.
Match: Fiji v Cook Islands
Round 1 -
home Team
Fiji
1st Position
away Team
Cook Islands
4th Position
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
The Bati were on song from the opening stages, scoring two tries in the opening 12 minutes as the starting middles dominated through the ruck and created second phase play to further stretch the Aitu defence.
Cook Islands settled into the game and demonstrated their resilience despite a mountain of possession for Fiji, but couldn’t take advantage of their attacking opportunities.
The Aitu simply couldn’t find a way through in the attacking zone and struggled to get boot to ball on last tackle under the pressure of the Bati defence.
Jacob Saifiti Try
A mid-half lull in scoring came to an end in the 28th minute with a first Test try to Jacob Saifiti, who was first to an aerial contest and leapt high to take the ball over Cook Island fullback Esom Ioka before reaching out to plant the ball under the posts.
Worse was to come for Cook Islands as Taane Milne burrowed over from dummy half five minutes from half-time, before Caleb Navale burst through off a Brandon Wakeham short ball and ran 40m on his passage to the corner.
The Pe'e erupts in Newcastle
The 28-0 lead for Fiji was a symbol of their dominance enjoying a 62% share of possession as Cook Islands counted their completed sets on two hands.
Fiji continued with the points in the second half as Kitione Kautoga added his name to the score sheet, before the Aitu had some joy when a show-and-go from Maui Winitana-Patelesio had the five-eighth crashing over under the posts.
It sparked energy into the Cook Islands and they went back-to-back when interchange hooker Rua Ngatikaura found Davvy Moale with a short ball, allowing him to crash over.
Maui Winitana-Patelesio Try
The Bati quickly ended any thought of a Cook Islands comeback when centre Solomone Saukuru flew through the line a second time off a Kurt Donoghoe short ball to put the result beyond doubt with 10 minutes remaining.
Both Pool A sides have tough asks in the next round, as Fiji prepare to take on the Kangaroos and Cook Islands face New Zealand.
