(Written by Azul: September 23, 2024)
September 14 and 15, 2024 The PNC Cup reached its semi-finals, and the results of the PNC matches so far are as follows
Group A = Fiji, Samoa, Tonga
August 23: Fiji vs Samoa 42-16
August 30: Samoa vs Tonga 43-17
September 6: Tonga vs Fiji 19-50
As a result, Group A is as follows
1st : Fiji
2nd : Samoa
3rd : Tonga
Fiji and Samoa will advance to the semifinals, while Tonga will play for 5th and 6th place on September 14.
Next,
Group B: Japan, USA, Canada
August 26 : Canada vs Japan 28-55
September 1: USA vs Canada 28-15
September 7: Japan vs USA 41-24
As a result, Group B is as follows
1st : Japan
2nd : USA
3rd : Canada
Japan and USA will advance to the semifinals, while Canada will play for 5th and 6th place on September 14.
On September 14 and 15, the fifth- and sixth-place matches and two semifinal matches were held at the Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground in Minato-ku, Tokyo. I went to watch the matches on both days.
The first match on September 14 was the PNC 5th and 6th place deciding match between Tonga and Canada.
Both Tonga and Canada did not put up a good fight and ended up in last place in their group. However, international training matches like the PNC are a valuable opportunity for the team to qualify for the RWC 2027, and they would like to bring back some results.
Tonga’s world ranking is 16th, while Canada’s is 22nd. Tonga’s team’s weakness is its high frequency of foul play, while Canada’s challenge is its low scoring ability.
It was Canada who scored first. A PG in the first 6 minutes put them ahead by 3 points.
However, it was Tonga that took control of the attack in the first half. With a strong FW attack, the BK showed determination when they saw an opportunity, scoring tries in the 10th and 15th minutes of the first half to lead 14-3.
However, Canada also showed their strength in the set play scrum, breaking down the opponent’s scrum in enemy territory and scoring a try and conversion goal in successive attacks to close the gap to 4 points, 14-10.
Then, 25 minutes into the first half, SO PELLEGRINI kicked a kick from his own line that put the Canada team in front of the enemy in-goal 50-22. From there, Canada’s national team scored a try after a series of side attacks by the strong FW, with the FB running in from the opposite side.
The score was 19-10, and the first half ended.
In the second half, Tonga scored first with a PG in the 7th minute.
The score was 22-10, and Tonga led by 10 points, after which the game was deadlocked for a while.
27 minutes into the second half, Canada won the ball in a tight battle in enemy territory, and CTB MCMULLIN broke through the Tongan defensive net and scored a try in the enemy in-goal. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 22-17 to 5 points.
However, shortly after Canada scored, FL FRYER was fouled for a dangerous tackle and was temporarily sent off. After this, Tonga was pushed into the game more and more due to the disadvantage in numbers, and scored 3 points by PGs and 7 points by try and conversion goals to make the score 30-17.
The game was competitive until the middle of the second half, when a foul by Canada resulted in a temporary sending off, and the game tilted in Tonga’s favor. The match ended as it did, with Tonga in fifth place and Canada in sixth place in PNC 2024.
The first game ended at 18:00, and after a one-hour interval, the second game, the PNC 2024 semifinal Fiji vs USA, kicked off.
The world ranking of the two countries.
Fiji is ranked 10th and USA is ranked 19th.
The latest news from Fiji:
At RWC2023, Fiji has reached the finals and is ranked 8th.
This day’s starting lineup was as follows.
| Fiji | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | Fiji Caps |
| 1 | Eroni MAWI | 180cm | 131kg | 28 | 31 |
| 2 | Tevita IKANIVERE | 183cm | 113kg | 25 | 13 |
| 3 | Sameula TAWAKE | 183cm | 120kg | 28 | 8 |
| 4 | Isoa NASILASILA | 197cm | 117kg | 25 | 12 |
| 5 | Temo MAYANAVANUA | 197cm | 120kg | 26 | 15 |
| 6 | Meli DERENALAGI | 190cm | 84kg | 25 | 5 |
| 7 | Kitione SALAWA | 192cm | 95kg | 23 | 0 |
| 8 | Elia CANAKAIVATA | 185m | 104kg | 28 | 0 |
| 9 | Frank LOMANI | 180m | 81kg | 28 | 31 |
| 10 | Caleb MUNTZ | 176cm | 86kg | 24 | 2 |
| 11 | Ilaisa DROASESE | 187cm | 103kg | 26 | 1 |
| 12 | Inia TABUAVOU | 185cm | 101kg | 22 | 0 |
| 13 | Iosefo BALEIWAIRIKI | 190cm | 84kg | 26 | 4 |
| 14 | Vuate KARAWALEVU | 193cm | 104kg | 23 | 0 |
| 15 | Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula | 175cm | 86kg | 20 | 0 |
The USA team, on the other hand, failed to qualify for the RWC 2023 tournament after losing in the regional qualifying rounds, and as the hosts of RWC 2031, they will be looking for a good showing in the next tournament.
The Eagles’ starting lineup was as follows
| American Eagles | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | USA Caps |
| 1 | Jack ISCARO | 185cm | 122kg | 27 | 8 |
| 2 | Kapeli PIFELETI | 183cm | 110kg | 25 | 12 |
| 3 | Alex MAUGHAN | 178cm | 122kg | 29 | 4 |
| 4 | Viliami HELU | 193cm | 107kg | 28 | 8 |
| 5 | Greg PETERSON | 206cm | 125kg | 33 | 45 |
| 6 | Paddy RYAN | 188cm | 111kg | 25 | 8 |
| 7 | Cory DANIEL | 188cm | 104kg | 28 | 4 |
| 8 | Jamason Fa’anana SCHULTZ | 188m | 122kg | 28 | 12 |
| 9 | Ruben de HAAS | 183m | 90kg | 25 | 31 |
| 10 | Luke CARTY | 183cm | 91kg | 26 | 19 |
| 11 | Nate AUGSPURGER | 173cm | 82kg | 34 | 44 |
| 12 | Tommaso BONI | 185cm | 103kg | 31 | 7 |
| 13 | Tavite LOPETI | 180cm | 91kg | 25 | 13 |
| 14 | Conner MOONEYHAM | 183cm | 93kg | 26 | 2 |
| 15 | Mitch WILSON | 175cm | 81kg | 24 | 9 |
Kickoff for the first semifinal game was set for 19:00.
Just before the kickoff, a shimbi, Fiji’s War Cry, was performed.
Then, the match started.
The attendance for this match was 3,681. This was slightly less than the average number of spectators per League One game last season. The reason for this may be that the Japanese national team did not participate in the match, and the Japanese national team’s record this season has not been good, I guess.
In the match of the day, the U.S. national team put up a good fight. At last year’s RWC 2023, Fiji was more than evenly matched against the world’s top nations. Pre-match predictions called for Fiji to win by a wide margin over the 19th-ranked U.S. team after a convincing victory over Samoa, ranked 14th in the world.
The first goal was scored by the U.S. team on a PG, and by the end of the first half, Fiji had a 7-point lead, 3-10. Looking at the first half of the match, the U.S.’s fighting style was a defensive-oriented one. The U.S. did not use the double tackle that the Japanese national team often uses, and there were many occasions when they were able to beat Fiji one-on-one, a defensive approach that eliminated Fiji’s strengths. This meant that Fiji’s individual players could not connect with off-load passes while being tangled up with the opposing defenders in attack.
The U.S. national team’s tactic was to keep attacking in the enemy territory, while eliminating Fiji’s strengths, inducing penalties, and scoring through PGs. However, the team missed a PG in a relatively easy target position in the 17th minute of the first half, which was painful.
Still, the U.S. national team had a chance to turn things around in the second half, as they finished the first half with a 7-point lead.
And so the second half began.
In the second half, the U.S. team persisted in cutting off Fiji’s attacks. In the 11th minute of the second half, however, the Fiji national team attacked into enemy territory, secured the ball in a lineout, and connected passes for a gain, with WTB KARAWALEVU breaking through the enemy’s defensive net and going close to the in-goal, SH LOMANI received a pass, and
finally, the ball was connected to No.8 CANAKAIVATA, who scored a try in the enemy’s in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and the score was 17-3, giving the Fiji team a 14-point lead.
Fiji’s first goal of the second half, scored in ideal fashion, gave the Fiji team momentum, while the U.S. team began to feel tired.
In the 20th minute of the second half, Fiji’s attack became bolder, and the Fijian Magic team began to move the ball more aggressively from their own line, with the FW and BK working in unison. This made the Fijian Magic unstoppable, and SH LOMANI almost scored the winning try for the Fiji national team on the right edge of the enemy’s in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try failed, but the score was 22-3.
The U.S. national team continued to attack, trying to get their revenge, even if it did not lead to victory, but in the end, the score remained 22-3.
Looking back on the match, the Fiji national team’s strength in set pieces, their strong defense after being attacked, and their attacking ability based on the physical strength of the individual players were outstandingly impressive. The current Fiji national team is also a very difficult opponent for the current Japanese team, as they have shown so much strength by bringing in many new players to replace old and new players. The second semifinal match on September 15 will be a lot of fun.
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Stop the war.
Peace to Ukraine
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