Australia’s David Pocock tackles Fiji’s Netani Talei during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match
Australia struggled to put away a spirited Fiji side playing its second game in five days at the Rugby World Cup, winning 28-13 mainly thanks to a quick brace of first-half tries from No. 8 David Pocock yesterday.
Pocock dived over at the base of rolling mauls to help the Australians to an 18-3 halftime lead in their first Pool A game of the tournament. And when prop Sekope Kepu barged over for a third try early in the second half, Fiji faced a huge task so soon after losing to England in the opening game on Friday.
Yet flyhalf Ben Volavola’s solo try in the 60th inspired the Fijians to a strong finish, with Australia getting pinned back in its own half in the final minutes. The Wallabies failed, unlike England, to earn the bonus point for four tries that could yet prove significant in what is expected to be a tight pool as it also contains Wales.
“I’m new to test footy, right, but for me winning a test match, that’s all you need to do and then move onto the next one,” Cheika said, playing down the impact of the missed bonus point. “I’m not counting points.”
Flyhalf Bernard Foley kicked 13 points for Australia, which has won the World Cup both times it has been held in Britain — in 1991 and 1999.
The Wallabies had the luxury of a belated start to the tournament, having been holed in Bath in southeast England while their rivals slugged it out over the opening weekend.
So while Fiji arrived in Cardiff battle-hardened but potentially sore from a 35-11 loss to England at Twickenham, the Australians were fresh and buoyed from winning the Rugby Championship this year.
As it turned out, Pocock’s brace of tries proved crucial. He is a recent convert to the No. 8 shirt but he looked at home there as he controlled the ball at the base of mauls before diving over the tryline in the 27th and 31st minutes.
Kepu ran through Fiji hooker Tuapati Talemaitoga’s attempted tackle to scurry over in the 43rd and Australia looked set for a bonus-point win to keep pace with England.
Fiji summoned up energy out of nowhere, and produced some wonderful offloads and one-handed passes that thrilled a near-capacity crowd. Volavola’s try was a delight, sidestepping Rob Simmons and dummying past another lock in Kane Douglas to battle across the line and between the posts.
By the end, the Australians were hanging on and Foley kicked a penalty in the 70th minute to put a margin of two converted tries between the teams, when they could have gone for a fourth try and bonus point. AP
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