Round 3 of the Pacific Nations Cup was definitive for 2 teams - the irony being they were the 2 who didn’t play. Japan’s defeat of USA and Fiji’s defeat of Samoa meant that Canada and Tonga were gifted a spot at the 2027 showpiece in Australia. However, with one more spot left on the line, there was still plenty to learn from these games. Let’s deep dive the stats…
Pifeleti (29', 37'), Telea-Ilalio (78')
Tries
Gunter (11'), Fakatava (21', 45'), Dearns (25', 61'), Shimokawa (32'), Ishida (69')
Hilsenbeck (30', 38'), Carty (79')
Conversions
Lee (12', 22', 26', 33', 62', 70')
Round 3 of the Pacific Nations Cup was definitive for 2 teams - the irony being they were the 2 who didn’t play. Japan’s defeat of USA and Fiji’s defeat of Samoa meant that Canada and Tonga were gifted a spot at the 2027 showpiece in Australia. However, with one more spot left on the line, there was still plenty to learn from these games. Let’s deep dive the stats…
Samoa may have lost against Fiji but their performance went a long way to suggesting they are making progress. They made more post contact metres than Fiji with 25% fewer carries and nearly 10% of their tackles were dominant. Samoan rugby’s DNA has always been about physicality, and there was plenty of it in this game.
Sue (3'), Lam (18')
Tries
Ikanivere (13'), Tamanivalu (36'), Kuruvoli (59'), Ravouvou (79')
Iona (19')
Conversions
Muntz (37', 60'), Valetini (80')
Iona (9')
Penalties
Muntz (64')
In this same fixture 12 months ago, a young Fijian flanker named Kitione Salawa marked his test debut with 3 tries. This year, he was equally to the fore with a superb individual display. A word also for the halfback pairing of Kuruvoli (who for a long time has been Fiji’s best 9, he got a try and an assist in this game) and Caleb Muntz who brought some calm to the pasifika chaos.
Type ‘samoan tackle’ into YouTube and you will be greeted with clips of massive shots that would mostly receive a red card in the modern game. Poor discipline is some that has always blighted Samoa - their women’s team also has a habit of picking up red cards - and this game saw that trend return. 17 penalties, 1 yellow and 1 red went a long way to costing them this result.
A glance at the highlights of USA vs Japan will reveal multiple Japanese tries coming from their players swatting aside American’s like flies. Japan are not known as a nation of physical ball carries - all though they have recently show significant improvement in the physicality stakes - but USA made them look like juggernauts.
Defensive stats have limited value in the post-Neinaber world but they do tell an accurate story of this game. In all, the Eagles allowed 10 line breaks in this game and missed 24 tackles. Just 3 of their 154 tackles were dominant.
One assumes that a nation like the USA would have no trouble producing power athletes. Certainly, they are not producing elusive runners as shown by their 1 line break and 6 defenders beaten in the whole game. Sadly though, their ball carrying was even worse as they got just 88 post contact metres from 119 carries. Add in their meagre 3 dominant hits and it is difficult to see how they could ever cope with Samoa in the next game. The repechage beckons…
