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Fiji ended their World Cup campaign on a high as they comfortably beat Uruguay to secure 4th place in Pool A.
It was a seven-try thriller at the Stadium MK as over 30,000 spectators witnessed a strong performance from the Fijians.
The first points on the scoreboard were from a penalty try as referee JP Doyle judged a tackle from Uruguay’s Agustin Ormaechea to be illegal.
Scrumhalf Nemia Kenatale scored another try for Fiji just six minutes later but Nemani Nadolo missed the conversion; the only conversion attempt he missed in the match.
There was hope for Uruguay later in the first half as Alejo Duran scored a penalty and Carlos Arboleya scored his side’s first World Cup try since 2003 to make the score 12-10 to Fiji.
Fiji were also awarded another penalty try and scored a fourth through Leone Nakarawa before the break to secure the bonus point.
Uruguay then gave themselves a bit of hope after a great kick up the field and some neat handling from Ormaechea saw them score their second try of the game.
Api Ratuniyarawa and Kini Murimurivalu scored two tries in quick succession for Fiji as they began to make it a rout with the score at 40-15.
Matters got worse for Uruguay as Ormaechea was involved in an incident which saw him receive his second yellow card of the game; which meant he was sent off with a quarter of an hour to play.
Nemani Nadolo put in an excellent performance for Fiji and he scored a late try near the touchline, before successfully converting. He scored 17 points in this match as well as starting off a number of key attacks and ensured the score finished 47-15.
Uruguay face England in their final game of the tournament; the tournament’s hosts will be looking to restore some dignity after their failure to progress past the group stages.
