This was another evening of rich entertainment in Milton Keynes; truly this World Cup is breaking new ground. Stadium: MK hosted more than 30,000 for what was a game of no consequence between two teams from far, far away. Uruguay’s World Cup will continue from here to Manchester for their final game against England but Fiji take their leave with their heads held high.
The end of the game was marred by squabbling, which resulted in a second yellow card for the unfortunate Agustín Ormaechea, but that should not detract from a fine game. Fiji scored some great tries, as one would expect, but Uruguay scored two and were within 11 points of the islanders on the hour.
It will be particularly harsh on them if they lose Ormaechea, their lively scrum-half, for the match against England a mere four days after this. Pablo Lemoine, their coach spoke on behalf of everyone present, Uruguayan or otherwise, when he said he felt any offences were minor. He also said his team would aim to go out with a bang against the hosts.
“The first thing we must do is try to recover,” he said. “We will still try to score tries. We have not come here to slow the game or play defensive rugby. We will try to make it a tough game.”
As minnows go, they are as small as any in this tournament – literally as well as metaphorically – but their tenacity is remarkable. They tested the patience of Fiji with their relentless tackling, which only added to the carnival feel of the occasion.
The disparity between the Fiji set piece and Uruguay’s was glaring. The scrum was a penalty machine – Uruguay did not win one in the first half, on their put-in or Fiji’s – and after 10 minutes their prospects looked grim. Ormaechea picked up his first yellow – and conceded a penalty try – for not using his arms when he threw himself at the ankles of Levani Botia. While he was in the bin Nemia Kenatale shot blind off yet another big Fiji scrum for try No2.
Uruguay were swift to hit back. The last World Cup try they scored was by Lemoine, against England in 2003. That drought was broken when Carlos Arboleya hit a superb line off Ormaechea to spark intense celebrations – and an unlikely 12-10 scoreline at the end of the first quarter, following Alejo Durán’s penalty.
Fiji tore through another scrum for a second penalty try in the second quarter before Leone Nakarawa, one of their stars of the tournament, threw the kind of dummy only a Fijian lock can and galloped to the posts in similar style.
With a 16-point lead and their first bonus point in the bag it seemed Fiji would pull away but that reckoned without Uruguayan tenacity. Time and again blue defenders swarmed round the mighty charges of Nakarawa; time and again, their ankle-low tackles hacked down three-quarters more powerful than any of their forwards. Fiji started to force the passes until Uruguayan nirvana was attained once more. Rodrigo Silva hacked on a loose ball, Gastón Mieres was first to it, to feed the excellent Arboleya, and Ormaechea finished in the corner. A second Uruguay try, and Milton Keynes went wild.
The final quarter belonged to Fiji. Tevita Cavubati crashed over for their fifth try in the 65th minute, whereupon the first wave of fisticuffs broke out. Then, straight from the restart, Kini Murimurivalu finished a brilliant length-of-the-field move, sparked by Botia, who never told his wife he was a rugby player until she saw him play on TV one day. Trouble flared again in the aftermath and JP Doyle issued a yellow card to Campese Ma’afu and a second – and therefore red – to Ormaechea, before Nemani Nadolo scored Fiji’s seventh.
At last they take some points from a game, the least they deserve for all they have brought to this pool, but they finish it in fourth. Third would surely have been within their grasp in any other group. It seems none of the three island teams will make the top three of their pools. It means all three will have to qualify for 2019 and that in all likelihood means one will not make it. England are not the only casualties of this most controversial of pools.
Fiji Murimurivalu; Tikoirotuma, Goneva, Botia, Nadolo; Volavola (Matavesi, 69), Kenatale (Seniloli, 61); Ma’afu, Koto (Veikoso, 75), Atalifo (Koroi, 75), Ratuniyarawa (Cavubati, 56), Nakarawa, Waqaniburutou, Quera (capt), Matadigo (Talei, 56).
Tries penalty 2, Kenatale, Nakawara, Cavubati, Murimurivalu, Nadolo. Cons Nadolo 6.
Sin-bin Ma’afu 66.
Uruguay Mieres; Gibernau (Bulanti, 75), Prada, A Vilaseca, Silva; A Durán (Etcheverry, 66), Ormaechea; Corral (O Durán, h-t), Arboleya, Sagario (Sanguinetti, 66), S Vilaseca (capt), Zerbino (Palomeque, 66), Gaminara (De Freitas, 75), Beer (Lamanna, 70), Nieto.
Tries Arboleya, Ormaechea. Con A Durán. Pen A Durán.
Sin-bin Ormaechea 3, 66.
Referee JP Doyle (Eng). Attendance 30,048.
