Fiji was beaten by England last week before being dealt another defeat on Sunday morning against France. Photo: AFP / GLYN KIRK
France defeated Fiji 34-21 in Bordeaux in their rugby test match on Sunday morning, scoring four tries in the process.
That means the islanders have lost two of their matches on their current three-match Europe tour, having lost to England in Twickenham last weekend.
Fiji were in the game early in the second spell, holding France to 21-all at one point, following their third try by winger Jiuta Wainiqolo, who plays for Lyon.
But mistakes and a number of penalties punished them severely, as French fullback Thomas Ramos made use of those chances with successful attempts.
Unfortunate for Fiji, a possible late try by Jiuta Wainiqolo was thwarted by Thomas in the 77th minute when he tapped a back pass from Wainiqolo on the line, with Pita Gus Sowakula in support.
Ramos was sent off with a yellow card for his action but the penalty try was not given, something Fijian captain Tevita Ikanivere pointed to post-match.
France led 21-14 at halftime, after scoring three tries.
That started with Nicolas Depoortere claiming his five-and-a-half minutes into the half, after the forward pack had mauled their way toward the Fijian line.
Two more tries came through Julien Marchand in the 13th and Charles Ollivon in the 18th as the hosts raced to an early 21-0 in the first quarter of the game.
That spell saw Fijian winger Selesitino Ravutaumada yellow-carded for an accidental shoulder hit on Depoortere's head in a tackle and Caleb Muntz missing a penalty attempt and not getting touch from a penalty option.
But the islanders did not let go, throwing the ball around and mixing it upfront with the French forwards as well, led by captain Tevita Ikanivere.
Centre Kalaveti Ravouvou crashed his way through for Fiji's first try in the 27th minute after his wing partner Jiuta Wainiqolo had ran the ball hard toward the French defence.
Flyhalf Muntz took a tackle and offloaded to halfback Kuruvoli, who flicked an inside pass back to Ravouvou.
Ravouvou burst through to score in-between the posts and Kuruvoli's conversion saw Fiji trail 21-7.
Ravutaumada made amends for his earlier yellow card in the 39th minute when he also busted his way through tacklers to dive in over the line.
Kuruvoli, who had taken over the conversion duties from Muntz, kicked the extra point, as France led 21-14 at halftime.
What they said
France's Ollivon said after the game Fiji was strong and they had a tough match.
"Very strong game against Fiji, they are always tough," he said post-match.
The Six Nations champions lost last weekend to world champions South Africa.
Number eight Gregory Alldritt said they were happy.
"Fiji is a real good team and they [are] improving week after week and they showed it tonight."
They play Australia next week.
Flying Fijian captain Tevita Ikanivere said they let themselves down with their own mistakes and discipline.
"We are gutted," he said post-match.
"We think we had them, but discipline let us down again. We fell short and we will learn from it as we move towards Spain and try and win.
"We've got the courage and the firepower to take any team in the world."
Ikanivere said they will need to work on their mistakes as they work on meeting Spain next week.
Head coach Mick Byrne said the team let France in early, but added they will improve.
"We just didn't win a couple of set pieces and once we got moving we were doing all right.
"We worked really hard and they worked very hard off the field and there's been a big improvement in the last 18 months."
Decisive second half
Fiji started strongly in the second half after Wainiqolo scored in the corner, with Kuruvoli levelling the scores with his conversion at 21-all.
France took advantage of penalties awarded to them as Ramos kicked three points in the 48th minute, to lead 24-21.
He further added another three points in the 55th minute, after Josua Tuisova was ruled offside.
In the last quarter former England Under-20 Tim Hoty made his debut for the Flying Fijians, joining Atunaisa Sokobale, as the new prop pairing.
But the French made sure of the victory in front of their home fans in the 70th minute when Depoortere claimed his second try.
While the Fijians made a late surge through Wainiqolo, the hosts held on to claim the win, shifting focus to next weekend against the Wallabies in Paris.
