The Fijiana XV held off a spirited Samoan fightback to retain their Oceania Rugby Women’s Challenge title with a hard-fought 24-20 victory. 14 June 2025 Photo: Facebook / Fiji Rugby
The Fiji women's rugby team retained their Oceania Rugby Women's XV Challenge title with a hard-fought 24-20 victory against Samoa in Sigatoka on Saturday.
The win came after Fijiana held on as Manusina mounted pressure in the second half.
It was a match that proved to be a thriller in the end, with the hosts coming back into the game late to score a try and claim the win.
Fijiana captain Alfreda Fisher expressed pride in her team's performance.
"It's been an honor defending our title on home soil," she said.
"A big vinaka vakalevu (thank you very much) to the girls. We now look forward to the USA match, which will be great preparation for the World Cup."
The Fijians defeated both Pacific rivals - Tonga and Samoa - at the event.
Their clash against the USA will be their final warm up to the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England.
They are in Pool B with Canada, Scotland, Wales.
Samoa are also in the World Cup, pooled with England, Australia and USA in Pool A, with matches scheduled between August 22 to September 27.
Samoan captain Sui Pauaraisi praised her team's resilience, especially given the emotional challenges they faced:
"I'm so proud of our girls," she said.
"Every campaign, it's always been a different team-this time we had eight debutants, and they stepped up. We also played for our sisters who lost loved ones-Casey lost her mum, and another lost her dad. That's how connected this team is."
A Fiji Rugby Union report stated that the Fijiana XV held off a spirited Samoan fightback to retain their crown.
Hooker Bitila Tawake crashed over from a well-executed line-out maul just four minutes into the match, to give the locals a 5-0 lead.
Fijiana's Michella Stolz was yellow-carded for an accidental head clash with Samoa's outside centre Drenna Falaniko, leaving Fiji with 14 players for 10 minutes.
Despite being a player down, Fiji extended their lead in the 32nd minute when Ema Adivitaloga powered over after a line-out win near Samoa's posts. Luisa Tisolo added the extras, making it 12-5.
Just before halftime, Fiji struck again-another stolen line-out allowed Stolz to break free before offloading to Adivitaloga, who completed her brace.
Fiji led 17-5 at halftime.
Samoa found momentum in the 49th minute when their inside center Faasua Makisi charged-down kick and passed to her outside center Drenna Falaniko to score their second try (17-10).
Fresh legs in the Samoan scrum turned the tide, and in the 57th minute, replacement winger Linda Fiafia (jersey 22) showcased her speed and strength, breaking tackles to score in the corner (17-15).
Fiji responded swiftly-Repeka Tove pounced on a loose ball from a Samoa scrum in their own 22, kicking ahead and grounding it for Fiji's fourth try. The conversion extended the lead to 24-15.
But Samoa refused to surrender. Fiafia struck again in the 71st minute, burning down the wing to narrow the gap to 24-20. However, Fiji's resolute defence in the dying minutes secured their victory.
