Manu Samoa won the Pacific Nations Cup title after defeating the Flying Fijians 20-23, in Lautoka this afternoon.
The Seilala Mapusua strong spirited side came from a 17-3 deficit in the first half to beat Fiji in the second half.
The visitors got off to a perfect start with Rodney Iona booting the first penalty in the 13th minute.
This was on the back of some good defending by Samoa after Fiji unleashed waves of attack in the first few minutes.
A few minutes later, Fiji hit back through number 8 Albert Tuisue who crashed over for a try after a quick tap from the 5 meter line.
Ben Volavola added the extras for the side to lead 7-3.
Fiji further extended its lead in the 30th minute, a solo try by halfback Frank Lomani – darting from the base of the scrum to beat 4 Samoan players.
Just before the break, Volavola kicked a penalty as Fiji led 17-3.
In the second half, Samoa were first on the board again, as hooker Ray Niuia got the side’s first try through a rolling maul.
Iona added the two points from out wide to close the gap.
The next few minutes, the two sides exchanged penalties, with Fiji still in the lead 20-13.
Samoa then closed the gap through the boot of Iona after the hosts were penalized before they finally took the lead for the first time through Niuia who had been at the heart of the visitors maul.
Fly-half Iona kicked the conversion to make it a 3 point ball game.
Fiji had the last roll of the dice, launching an attack from inside Samoa’s territory but they were not able to break the visitors defence as Samoa held on to remain unbeaten.
Photo credit: Fiji One News Facebook Photo Caption: Manu Samoa Fly-half, Rodney Iona.
This is also the first time for Samoa to beat Fiji in the PNC competition.