World Cup: Fiji vs Ireland (Group A)

[DIEHARD]

FIJI vs IRELAND
Monday October 28 KO: 8:00pm (Local Time)
SPOTLAND STADIUM - ROCHDALE

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Fiji v Ireland preview
By Dominic Brock
NRL.com
2:30pm Mon 28th October, 2013


Fiji v Ireland
Spotland Stadium, Rochdale
Monday 8pm (UK time)
Tuesday 7am (AEDT); 6am (AEST)

A quarter-finals spot is up for grabs in what is essentially a battle for third place in Group A, with Australia and England expected to finish first and second in the toughest pool of the tournament. These two teams actually met at the quarter-finals stage in the last World Cup in 2008, with Fiji sending Ireland packing on the way to their best finish in the tournament.

Fiji are led in 2013 by front-row great Petero Civoniceva, who has kept match fit in the Queensland Cup this season and returns to the world stage with the country of his birth at the age of 37. His squad is brimmed with family connections, with Ashton, Tariq and Korbin Sims in the pack and Wes and Kevin Naiqama in the backline alongside Daryl and Ryan Millard.

Ireland reached the knockout stages last time around after surprising both Samoa and Tonga in the group stage, and they boast a squad dominated Super League players, with Canberra's Brett White, North Queensland's Rory Kostjasyn, Parramatta's Api Pewhairangi, Manly's James Hasson and returning Wests Tiger Pat Richards the team's NRL stars.

Watch Out Ireland: The Fijians look particularly strong in the back row and the outside backs, so Ireland will need to be wary when defending on the fringes. The Sims brothers and Jayson Bukuya are all capable of busting through the defensive line, and if they get the ball wide they have plenty of strike power in the form of Sisa Waqa, Wes Naiqama and barnstorming wingers Akuila Uate and Marika Koroibete.

Watch Out Fiji: Ireland's wide men aren't too shabby either. Pat Richards has scored 140 tries in 183 Super League games, took out the competition's Man of Steel award in 2010 and has just won the premiership with Wigan, while his fellow winger Damien Blanch knows his way to the tryline as well after scoring 73 tries in 120 Super League appearances. But their best weapon may be halfback Scott Grix, who is a jack-of-all-trades at club level but will be Ireland's chief playmaker. Grix arguably gives Ireland the advantage in the halves, which could be a key factor if the game goes down to the wire.

Key Match-Up: Akuila Uate v Pat Richards. Knights speedster Uate is one of the most destructive wingers in rugby league but has dropped out of the Australian rep scene in recent times, having represented New South Wales and Australia in 2011 and 2012. He'll get the chance to prove his critics wrong in this tournament, and will start his campaign up against one of the best wingers in the game in Richards – who has become a star in his time in Super League and is returning to the Wests Tigers in 2014.

Televised: 7mate – Live Tuesday 6.30am (NSW); 5.30am (Qld).

The Way We See It: In three of the four games so far this tournament the team with the most NRL talent has taken victory (with Papua New Guinea's one-point loss to France the exception), and we think the trend will continue here. The Irish can't be written off by any means but the Fijians are blessed with talent across the park and are capable of racking up points if their forwards can match it with their Irish counterparts. Fiji to win by eight points.

[TITAN PETE]

Looking forward to this game with fiji looking way too strong.

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Fiji will smash it home. I hope they open up. Fijians are made of tough stuff.

Watch out Wolfhounds, the Bati are coming!

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Fiji Bati big, strong and quick - Ashton

Ireland Coach Mark Ashton said that the Vodafone Fiji Bati players are very big, strong and quick, and they have some outstanding outside backs.

Ashton added they have got a game plan to counter Fiji in the Rugby League World Cup tomorrow.

Vodafone Fiji Bati center Wes Naiqama said they are hoping their fans will turn out in numbers tomorrow.

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The Fiji Bati has named the team to take on Ireland with the likes of Jayson Bukuya, Petero Civoniceva, Kane Evans, Aaron Groom, Marika Koroibete, Apisai Koroisau, Daryl Millard, Kevin Naiqama, Wes Naiqama, Alipate Noilea, Vitale Junior Roqica, Ashton Sims and Korbin Sims.

In the interchange, Tariq Sims, James Storer, Akuila Uate, Eloni Vunakece, Sisa Waqa and Semi Radradra.

The Fiji Bati will meet Ireland tomorrow at 9am.

Looking at today’s results, France pipped PNG 9 8 in the group B pool match this morning while defending champions New Zealand defeated Samoa 42-24.

http://www.fijivillage.com/

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[DIEHARD]

Fiji vs Ireland
Live on 7mate
Tuesday October 29 – 7AM AEDT (6AM Queensland time)

THE Bati will feel right at home in their opening match in Rochdale, which is home to one of the largest Fijian communities in the UK.

Former Kangaroos prop Petero Civoniceva captains Fiji and will be joined up front by the Sims brothers - Ashton, Korbin and Tariq.

Ireland have a good mix of youth and experience. Young Eels half Api Pewhairangi will play alongside NRL veteran Brett White and Catalans Dragons winger Damien Blanc.

Super League star Pat Richards – who returns to the NRL in 2014 with the Tigers – will play a crucial role in this game for Ireland.

He lines up against Akuila Uate and will need to be at his defensive best to shut down the Knights flyer.

With powerhouses Australia and England also in the group, this is a must win match for both nations, with the victor likely to secure a spot in the quarter finals.

OFFICIAL SQUADS
Ireland: Dave Allen, Luke Ambler, Bob Beswick, Damien Blanch, Danny Bridge, Ben Currie, Liam Finn, Scott Grix, Kurt Haggerty, James Hasson, Rory Kostjasyn, Stuart Littler, Tyrone McCarthy, James Mendeika, Anthony Mullally, Eamon O’Carroll, Apirana Pewhairangi, Pat Richards, Brett White.

Fiji: Jayson Bukuya, Petero Civoniceva, Kane Evans, Aaron Groom, Marika Koroibete, Apisai Koroisau, Daryl Millard, Kevin Naiqama, Waisale Ligani Naiqama, Alipate Noilea, Vitale Junior Roqica, Ashton Sims, Korbin Sims, Tariq Sims, James Storer, Akuila Uate, Eloni Vunakece, Sisa Ledua Waqa, Semi Radradra Waqavatu

Read more: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/oth...#ixzz2izajSZJD

[DIEHARD]

This game will be on just before I go to work. Shower at half time!

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Koroisau Named in Fiji Team to Play Ireland



Rabbitohs squad member, Apisai Koroisau, has been named in Rick Stone’s 19 man Fiji squad to play Ireland at Spotland Stadium at 6:30am Tuesday (Australian time) in Fiji’s opening World Cup match.

Koroisau joins a strong Fiji outfit captained by Petero Civoniceva and that includes the likes of Akuila Uate, Kevin Naiqama, the Sims brothers and Marika Koroibete.

Koroisau is the last of South Sydney’s World Cup contingent to be named in a squad to contest the opening round of the tournament, meaning all seven Rabbitohs internationals have now been named.

http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news-dis...-Ireland/86522

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37 years of age & Petro is killing it what a Champion

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Uate lifts Fiji to RLWC win over Irish

AAP
9:37am Tue 29th October, 2013


Winger Akuila Uate scored three tries and had another disallowed as Fiji ran over Ireland 32-14 in the Rugby League World Cup at their home away from home on Monday.

Rochdale was the town where the first Fijians came to play rugby league in England in 1961, and helped launch the careers of Fiji's first professional league players.

On Monday, with support from most of the sellout crowd of 8,800 in Spotland Stadium, the 2013 squad treated the town to six tries and some bone-rattling defence.

The Irish scored two tries in the last three minutes when the result was already beyond doubt, but they were generally overmatched.

Kevin Naiqama and brothers Tariq and Korbin Sims also scored tries for Fiji.

The result puts Fiji, a semi-finalist in 2008, on course for the quarter-finals.

The top three from Group A, which includes the Kangaroos and England, advance.

Fiji captain Petero Civoniceva will next face former side Australia on November 2.

The tournament is serving as Civoniceva's swansong, the final chapter of the prop's storied league career that featured 45 Tests for Australia, 33 State of Origins for Queensland and 309 NRL games for Brisbane and Penrith.

[C-Whiz]

Disappointed with the Irish boys, but DIEHARD, how good is their Rugby song?

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Civoniceva blown away by Rochdale reception

Fiji captain Petero Civoniceva says they have been blown away by the reception they have received in Rochdale for the World Cup.

The Bati delivered in front of a sell-out crowd at Spotland on Monday night, beating Ireland 32-14 to all but secure a spot in the quarter-finals.

They are based in the town for the duration of the tournament, thanks in part to the unique connection between Fiji and Rochdale, that dates back to the 1960s.

Civoniceva said: "We have just been blown away by the reception we received since we’ve been here.

"We have learnt about the history we have here and it’s something to be proud of. When we went to city hall, it was pretty emotional."

Two Fijians - Orsi Dawai and Joe Levula - were brought to Rochdale by chairman Arthur Walker after he spotted them playing rugby union during a trip to Fiji while in Australia with the Great Britain.

They became two of the first people to leave the country after anti-emigration laws were repealed, and an unlikely relationship was born.

Now, the Fijian community in Rochdale is the second largest in the UK, after London.

Many were out in force at Spotland, where the 8872 attendance made it a ground record for a rugby league match.

The emotion is likely to continue for Civoniceva, who will play against Australia in St Helens on Saturday, having previously won a record-breaking 45 caps for the Kangaroos.

He added: "Honestly, I haven’t really thought about it too much, my focus is here with the boys as I said we will learn from the things we did good tonight, and obviously there is a lot of things to be worked on, so that is what my focus is on."

http://www.loverugbyleague.com/