World Cup 2017: Fiji

This small island nation's inhabitants are naturally suited to the game of RL. They have been consistent for some years and are striving to challenge the best of nations. Admission into the NSW competition will help greatly.

Report card: The first time they came to a WC in 1995, they were in the same group as Australia and England. With only two qualifying, that was the end in three games. If that wasn't bad enough, the dose was repeated in 2000. Crazy system.

In 2008, two group matches then an eliminator meant a +50 points tally was achieved. Then meeting Australia in the semi final was too much, losing 0-52. For 2013 they were in the Australia/England group but with three going through, made the quarter finals, beating Samoa 22-4. That meant another appointment with Australia in the semis and 0-64 was the result.

Moving on to the 2017 edition, the Bati defeated the USA 58-12, Wales 72-6 and Italy 38-10. The kiwis shock loss in its group meant Fiji had to play them in the Quarter finals. A gritty 4-2 victory had Fiji go up against Australia for the third semi final in a row. The outcome was the same 6-54.

This would be their best WC ever, beating a top tier nation and scoring so freely in the group stage. However, the effort against the Kangaroos shows that plenty of work still needs to be done.

Final ranking for the tournament: 1st to 4th (out of 14 teams).

The chart shows the previous WC tournaments Fiji have graced. The lower figure for each year is the points differential for the group stage only.

					95			00			08			13			17
					W	D	L	W	D	L	W	D	L	W	D	L	W	D	L
					1		2	1		2	2		2	2		3	4		1
					-66			-88			+50			-36			+140

Other teams ranked at the 2017 WC. Click on the nation to go to that article.

12th - 14th: Scotland, Wales, USA.
9th - 11th: France, Italy, Samoa.
5th - 8th: Ireland, Lebanon, New Zealand, PNG.
1st - 4th: Australia, England, Fiji, Tonga.