The FIJI Water Flying Fijians picked up a bonus point in their 24-23 loss to Portugal this morning, to round up the RWC2023 quarter-final placings, their first time back in a RWC quarter-final stage in 16 years.
Frank Lomani kicked two consecutive penalties to see Fiji lead 23-17 with less than five minutes on the clock before Rodrigo Marta’s late try and Samuel Marques’s nail-biting conversion at the death giving Portugal a historic victory. Nevertheless, Fiji soldiered on to the last eight of the RWC2023 despite the loss. They also qualified for RWC2027 in Australia.
Flying Fijians coach Simon Raiwalui, said Portugal “fully deserved” the victory.
“Congratulations to Portugal, they played really well,” he said. “Disappointed not to get the win, we dropped too much ball. We were a bit tight in the context of the game.”
And looking ahead to the last-eight match, Raiwalui added: “England are a very good tournament team and we’re expecting a tough game. We’ll regroup, review and then get on to England.”
Flying Fijians captain Waisea Nayacavelu also praised Portugal before admitting the squad would have to work on their mistakes before facing Steve Borthwick’s team.
“We’ve got to do our fine-tuning for next week, regroup and refocus, and take it up to the next level.”
The quarter-final line-up for Rugby World Cup 2023 has been confirmed, with two matches in Marseille and two in Saint-Denis. All matches take place on the weekend of Saturday, 14 and Sunday, 15 October.
The fixtures for the quarter-finals of Rugby World Cup 2023 have been confirmed with host nation France playing reigning and three-time champions South Africa and the world’s number-one-ranked side Ireland taking on three-time champions New Zealand at Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
At Stade de Marseille, Pool C winners Wales will play Argentina after Los Pumas’ crucial victory against Japan in Nantes. At the same venue, Pool D winners England will play Fiji, who are set to compete in the knock-out stages of the Rugby World Cup for the first time since 2007.
The full line-up is as follows (all Central European Summer Time):
Saturday, 14 October
QF1 – 17:00: Wales v Argentina – Stade de Marseille
QF2 – 21:00: Ireland v New Zealand – Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Sunday, 15 October
QF3 – 17:00: England v Fiji – Stade de Marseille
QF4 – 21:00: France v South Africa – Stade de France, Saint Denis
Rugby World Cup 2027
Teams qualified for RWC 2027 in Australia are: Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Wales
Photo: Francisco Fernandes of Portugal celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s second try during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Fiji and Portugal at Stadium de Toulouse on October 08, 2023 in Toulouse, France. (Photo by Julian Finney – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
