We had to put our Body on the Line: Sawailau
Lautoka rugby captain Jona Sawailau said, they had to put their body on the line right to the final whistle in order to retain the converted INKK Mobile Farebrother-Sullivan Trophy from Suva. The Maroons pulled off another upset win by beating FMF Suva 21-19 at Lawaqa Park, Sigatoka, on Saturday.
Sawailau told SUNsports that big battles are won with confidence and good team vibes.
“It did not come easy,” he said.
“Suva is a championship team and they kept fighting right to the end. We give respect to Suva for giving us a good run in the second challenge.
“It was just another game for us but Suva as the Skipper and former Farebrother champions we had to be ready.
“We were fired up right from the first half since Suva is always a dangerous team in the Skipper Cup.
“I told the boys to hold on and to give it our all. We are not doing this favour for ourselves but to all the Lautoka fans.”
The Fiji Pine Lautoka side takes on third challenger Naitasiri this Saturday.
What happened:
Swire Shipping Fijian Drua utility back Isikeli Rabitu put on another stellar performance for the Maroons.
He slotted the first penalty of the match in the opening two minutes to give them a 3-0 lead.
Lautoka’s lead was short-lived as in the sixth minute burly Suva number right Nemani Nagusa scored a try, which was not converted for a 5-3 lead.
In the 13th minute Lautoka winger Vulo Turaga dashed past two Suva players to score a try in the corner to regain the lead 8-5. In the 23rd minute the Maroons extended their lead to 13-5 when halfback Samisoni Ravudi scored their second try. With a minute left before halftime, Turaga scored his second try in the corner with the conversion going wide to bring the scores to 18-5.
In the second half Suva came out firing but the Maroons defended well.
In the 50th minute, Suva halfback Terio Tamani dived over to score their second try before adding the extras to close the gap to 18-12.
In the 59th minute Rabitu kicked over his second penalty to further their lead to 21-12. Then it was all Suva as they threw everything into the game trying but the Lautoka defence held on.
Then it was Suva fullback Inia Tawalo who sped through a gap to score a try in the corner with Tamani converting it from far out to bring the scores to 21-19.
Comment: Suva captain Mosese Naiova said it was a great match between the two cities.
“It has not been able to be done but we have the Skipper Cup quarterfinal left.
“We thank our supporters and hats off to Lautoka for playing a great game.”