Brisbane, May 29, 2024 – The second round of the Oceania Rugby Women's Championships showcased remarkable performances and intense competition as teams vied to win their matches in round two of the tournament.
The matches delivered high-intensity rugby, and displayed the incredible talent within the region to a boisterous crowd who came out in force at Sunnybank Rugby Union Club, providing feverish support for the teams.
Fijiana XV vs. Papua New Guinea Cassowaries
In a dominant display, Fijiana XV triumphed over the Papua New Guinea Cassowaries with a decisive score of 85-6. Fiji's victory was highlighted by 13 tries and 10 conversions, with six of those tries scored in the first half.
Papua New Guinea managed to score two penalties. Fijiana secured a bonus point with their commanding performance.
Joanne Lagona, captain of the Papua New Guinea Cassowaries, reflecting on the game, said, "It was a tough game, but we gave them a good game. We didn’t follow through the coach’s plan, so we struggled a little bit. There were 10 debutants in the game against Fiji today, they did well and did their best tonight."
Merewai Cumu, vice-captain of the Fijiana XV, expressed her satisfaction with the team's performance, stating, "I’m really happy but it’s not what we expected, because we know we could do better.
During the break we just went back, and we talked about the mistakes we made in the first half so that we could come back in the second half and do better and especially to tighten up the set pieces. I thank the girls for the effort that was made today and today was achieved through teamwork."
Manusina XV vs. Lofa XV
The second match saw Manusina XV securing a victory over Lofa XV with a score of 29-7. Manusina's four tries, three conversions, and one penalty underscored their superiority, earning them a bonus point. Lofa XV managed to score one try and one conversion. Manusina played with only 14 players for more than half of the game after their captain was sent off in the final stages of the first half.
Vineta Teutau, vice captain of Lofa XV, praised the diversity and spirit of the team, noting, "Yeah we’ve got a lot of debutants. Last year we had a lot of girls from Australia and this year we got a mix from America, New Zealand and that’s why I reckon we are very physical which is a good change.”
Sui Pauraisa, captain of Manusina XV, expressed pride in the team's resilience, stating, "Very proud of the girls, I think we have 8 or 9 debutants that took the field this evening and playing with fourteen, I was out early in the first half, but yeah I’m just proud of the girls. There’s a lot of girls who have put up their hands for Manusina now and there’s more opportunities now for our girls so it’s great to see our young girls coming and representing our Samoa. There’s a lot of things we must work on from tonight’s game. We’ll go back and we’ll go through what happened tonight and we have to be just ready for Fiji on Sunday."
Upcoming Matches
The third and final round of the Oceania Rugby Women's Championships is scheduled for Sunday, June 2, 2024. The matchups will be as follows:
- 2:00pm: Lofa XV vs. Papua New Guinea Cassowaries
- 4:00pm: Fijiana XV vs. Manusina XV
The final match between Fijiana and Manusina will not only determine the final standings of this years Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship but ultimately a place at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup in England.
