Fiji 45 – Canada 29: Canada Give Better Performance After Falling Behind 14-0 in First Five Minutes

It was a better performance by Canada, a -16 loss this year compared to -53 last year against Fiji. Canada didn’t make it easy on themselves going down 7-0 in the first 30 seconds and 14-0 in the opening five minutes. Canada did show some composure after that and put together some phases with Mason Flesch crossing the line for a 14-7 scoreline which held until 23 minutes. A prop dropping a pass gave Fiji a counter-attack opportunity which they finished off with flair, 19-7. A scrum penalty gave Fiji their next chance, finished off from a lineout play, 26-7. Canada got one back before the half, Sion Parry, on the outside scored, 26-17, as McMullin had slotted a penalty in before that. Not a bad result for Canada, again errors had gifted the opposition scoring tries, a blocked box kick, a dropped ball, a scrum penalty all leading to Fiji tries. McMullin looked solid, Parry had a try and a poach, Jones was managing the game well when Canada had possession. The scrum started going backwards when Steeves came off due to injury. The lineout was hit and miss, the final stat for the match was 67% lineout success for Canada, not good enough yet.

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