The FIJI Water Flying Fijians scored four tries to claim a commanding 29-14 victory over Scotland in front of a packed HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
This was Scotland’s first trip back to Suva since their shock loss in 2017, and history repeated itself as the Flying Fijians, roared on by over 10,000 passionate fans, stunned the visitors.
Coming off a narrow 18-21 defeat to the Wallabies last week, the result marked a big boost for Mick Byrne’s side—who are looking to gain valuable momentum and ranking points ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup pool-stage draw in December.
Scotland struck first through winger Kyle Rowe, less than five minutes into the game. Fergus Burke added the extras for a 7-0 lead, and Scotland looked comfortable in the early exchanges.
But the tide began to turn when hooker Ewan Ashman was shown a yellow card in the 10th minute. Fiji nearly levelled soon after, but were denied by a superb last-ditch tackle that stopped Jiuta Wainiqolo just short of the line.
Caleb Muntz opened Fiji’s account with a penalty in the 21st minute to make it 3-7, and took control.
Another yellow card to Darcy Graham in the 33rd minute left Scotland on the back foot, and Fiji didn’t waste time.
Hooker Tevita Ikanivere powered over from close range a minute later, pushing Fiji into the lead for the first time. Though Muntz missed the conversion, Fiji edged ahead 8-7.
The try of the half came just before the break. Scrumhalf Simione Kuruvoli cleared from the base, Salesi Rayasi kept the attack alive with a deft offload, and Kalaveti Ravouvou was the man to finish the sweeping move in the far corner. Muntz nailed the difficult touchline conversion to give Fiji a 15-7 lead at the break and all the momentum.
Scotland responded early in the second half with a try from Tom Jordan just four minutes in, narrowing the score to 15-14 and briefly quieting the Suva crowd.
But that was as close as they would get. With fresh legs coming off the bench, Fiji found another gear.
In the 59th minute, Wainiqolo finally got on the scoresheet, breaking through the defensive line to finish off a sweeping attacking sequence. Muntz converted again to stretch the lead to 22-14.
Scotland’s frustrations were compounded when Graham, already on a yellow, was shown a second and sent off in the 66th minute. The infringement also led to a penalty try being awarded to Fiji, pushing the score to 29-14 and sealing the result with plenty of time still on the clock.
The final stages saw the debut of Sam Wye, who earned his first Test cap in front of an ecstatic home crowd, as Fiji saw out the game with composure and control.
Fiji coach Mick Byrne was pleased with the win: “Very pleased for our players. The amount of work done in such a very short period of time. And we are very happy with our fans. Big crowd turned out today.”
Ikanivere echoed those sentiments, saying, “Very happy, very thankful, very grateful. I think we deserved that win. We’ve worked so hard over the past two weeks—less than two weeks, really—to earn it. I’m grateful to the crowd for coming out in numbers. It was great to see the atmosphere, the energy. There are only a few things that truly bring Fijians together—and rugby is one of them. And today, it was amazing to see everyone come out and back Fiji.”
The win is an important one with Fiji currently sitting ninth in the World Rugby rankings, just behind Scotland in seventh ahead of the World Cup draw later this year.