It was a weekend of contrasting fortunes across the international rugby landscape. While the All Blacks celebrated a historic individual milestone in Wellington, the Pacific Island nations of Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga suffered a collective “triple setback” on the global stage.
England 73 – 8 Fiji
Venue: Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool The Story: England emphatically snapped a five-Test losing streak by handing Fiji their largest-ever defeat in the history of the two nations. The match was defined by a moment of ill-discipline in the first half when Fijian scrum-half Simione Kuruvoli was shown a straight red card for kicking out at Ellis Genge.
Fiji, who had famously challenged England in the 2023 World Cup, looked “disjointed” and struggled to maintain defensive shape while playing with 14 men for over half the match. England’s replacement Henry Pollock stole the show with a second-half hat-trick, showcasing natural pace that the flagging Fijian defense could not contain. Fiji’s lone try came from captain Tevita Ikanivere, but the side was ultimately undone by a crumbling set-piece and a high penalty count.
Georgia 33 – 12 Samoa
Venue: Santiago/Chile The Story: In the World Rugby Nations Cup, Georgia secured their second consecutive victory by outclassing Manu Samoa. Samoa started bravely, maintaining a defensive stalemate for the first 30 minutes and even taking an early lead through a Duncan Paia’aua try.
However, Samoa’s reliance on a kicking game that frequently gave away possession proved their undoing. Georgia remained clinical despite being reduced to 14 men twice during the match. Handling errors and missed tackles plagued the Samoans in the second half, allowing Georgia to pull away comfortably. While debutant Richie Asiata crossed for a try, Samoa captain Micrale Fai’ilagi admitted the team simply “didn’t turn up” for the contest.
Spain 32 – 19 Tonga
Venue: Edmonton, Canada The Story: Tonga’s ‘Ikale Tahi suffered a frustrating defeat to an increasingly clinical Spanish side in Edmonton. Tonga showed flashes of brilliance early on, particularly when captain Sonatane Takulua scored an opening try with an audacious dummy.
Despite showing “good character” throughout the match, Tonga failed to capitalize on several scoring opportunities. Spain, meanwhile, looked the more dangerous side on attack and secured the win through four tries and superior goal-kicking from the tee. Late tries from Sekope Moli and debutant Taniela Filimone provided some late hope, but Tonga ran out of time, leaving head coach Tevita Tu’ifu’a to lament “lots of learnings” ahead of their next clash against Portugal.
New Zealand 47 – 17 Italy
Venue: Wellington, New Zealand The Story: While the Pacific nations struggled, the All Blacks continued their winning momentum in the Nations Championship with a convincing victory over Italy. The match belonged to winger Will Jordan, who scored three tries to become the All Blacks’ all-time leading try scorer.
Jordan’s hat-trick took his career total to 50 tries in just 56 Tests, surpassing the previous record of 49 held by Doug Howlett. Beyond his scoring prowess, coach Dave Rennie and captain Ardie Savea praised Jordan’s high “rugby IQ” and his leadership, which saw him handed the captain’s armband for the final 15 minutes of the match.
