1
The 'bit of a positive outcome' Fiji's captain sees in shock loss
By Ian Cameron
Reporting from Japan: Fiji captain Dominiko Waqaniburotu says he can see a bit of a positive outcome after Uruguay defeated Fiji 30-27 at Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium.
The South Americans, mostly amateurs, led 21-12 at halftime on the back of converted tries from halfback Santiago Arata, No.8 Manuel Diana and centre Juan Manuel Cat as well as a penalty from Felipe Berchesi.
Five-eighth Berchesi kicked two more penalties in the second half to keep the scoreboard ticking over as the Fijians fought to get back in the game and Los Teros held on to claim their third victory in 12 World Cup matches.
The wins leaves Fiji's hopes of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2007 in tatters after they also lost their opening match to Australia on Saturday.
"Everything went wrong today. It's not the result we wanted," Waqaniburotu admitted post-game. "It's not the way we wanted the game to go today. We under-estimated a very good Uruguay team in the first outing for them. Congratulations to them.
"I thank all the support here today, and I thank the supporters in Fiji and wherever they supported us. Thank you."
"It was a bit of a mental game today and everyone's a bit down but we still got one point today so it's still a little bit of a positive outcome for us.
"No, it's not the result we wanted but we've got to keep looking forward, we can't go back. We can't look at what's behind us. We've got to keep looking forward."
Uruguay, ranked 19th in the world, were the more organised and disciplined side throughout the match in the small Japanese coastal town.
"I'm really proud of my country , we're not the biggest, we're not the tallest ... I'm really proud of my country," said a tearful Uruguay captain Juan Manuel Gaminara.
"You saw the passion, you saw the courage ... I don't want this to end."
Fiji, who had been relaxing at the beach to recover from the loss against Australia, looked all at sea in the match.
Things started well, with a neat lineout move returning the ball to hooker Mesulame Dolokoto to open the scoring in the seventh minute but Arata pounced on an error from Fiji No.8 Leone Nakarawa to juke his way under the posts four minutes later.
Fiji, who didn't play with the swashbuckling vigour they had displayed against Australia, returned to the forwards for their second try and prop Eroni Mawi dived over from a metre out on 18 minutes suggesting they would motor away from opponents they beat 68-7 last year.
However, Uruguay had other ideas and tries from Diana and Cat rocked their fancied opponents and give their small band of travelling fans hopes of an upset.
Uruguay's dominance at the breakdown – they turned the ball over 12 times to Fiji's six - forced another penalty and Berchesi split the uprights again to extend their lead to eight points with five minutes remaining.
Berchesi's 15 points on the day was the most ever by a Uruguayan at a World Cup and, despite Nikola Matawalua's late try, they were enough to secure his country a famous victory.
- additional reporting AAP
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Ex-Leicester Tigers CEO points out obvious choice for next head coach
3
Sale Sharks refuse to give up on new stadium dream
4
Duhan van der Merwe injury update leaves Andy Farrell with a dilemma
5
Latest Comments
Yeah, I don’t really get it either.
The teams will need to be more competitive at some stage as I’m sure it won’t be cost effective before long. It’s a lot of money and resources they have to pump into it just to field teams, let alone compete.
Even with the Boks only focus being on RWC’s, the euro comps would be a great way to develop test players in the first 1-3 years of a RWC cycle.
Go to commentsIt's a fact: Reddit has always been, is, and will be my source for crypto discussions, security tips, and market trends. Little did I know it would be the same site that helped save me from financial ruin. Some months ago, an AMA thread about Trust Geeks Hack Expert showed up. People asked them anything: from lost wallet recoveries to phishing scams; their answers sounded really detailed, transparent, and full of insight. At the time, I didn't know that their help was near. It all started with what I thought was a routine software update. I had received an e-mail from what looked like a trusted exchange, telling me to install an important patch. The email looked *legit—*matching the branding, formatting, and even the usual tone of messages I had received before. Without a second thought, I downloaded the update and installed it. Biggest mistake of my life. It froze within minutes, and then it automatically restarted. My crypto wallet was empty when I regained access. $200,000-gone. At first, I thought it was some kind of glitch, but as I dug deeper, the cold reality hit me hard: I had been hacked. The "update" was a form of malware designed to drain wallets by injecting malicious code. Panic set in, but rather than spiral, I remembered the Trust Geeks Hack Expert AMA. Their confidence in handling cases like mine had stood out to me. I rushed back to the thread, found their contact details Website https://trustgeekshackexpert.com/-- Email: trustgeekshackexpert{@}fastservice{.}com, and reached out immediately. Their response was prompt and very reassuring. They asked for every little detail I could remember-from the time of the installation of the fake update to the exact nature of the transactions I had done prior to this. They got to work, tracing the movement of my stolen funds using some advanced blockchain forensics.
Days went by, and I had my doubts, but they kept me updated. Then came a message that I was praying for; they had recovered my $200,000. It sounded like a dream come true. All stress, regret, and anger vanished at that moment. Trust Geeks Hack Expert saved not only my funds but also taught me a lesson which will never be forgotten: never trust email links. Now, I double-check every update; use cold storage for large amounts; don't click on anything that's remotely suspicious. If not for that Reddit AMA, I would have never found the only team skilled enough to turn my disaster into a comeback story.
Go to comments