Good game Fiji. It’s hard being a big rugby fan from the US. Maybe one day we will have a rugby team that’s good and a stadium full of cheering crowds! One can hope
Agreed, but hope is not a good strategy. In the early 80's there were two political camps; the bottom up and the top down. Too much pressure on short term results (i.e., future earning$) diluted the bottom up effort. Opportuni$t$ prevailed. So if USA is going to lose USMNT Eagles games, then why not lose with only players from the Youth/Collegiate pathway and incrementally build that pathway. Look at the world rankings then and now. When domestic pathways were the rule the USA Men Eagles were higher ranked than they are now.
That was before rugby went pro and for a few years we had some really good athletes. I think our best squad was the one at the RWC hosted by Australia. That was a long time ago. The rugby being played now IS quite a bit higher standard than 20 years ago. The quality of athlete simply hasn’t improved much. Better skilled, extremely good but non elite athletes means we are going to continue to lose.
No, it wasn’t. Competitive is being able to play in attack and defense. The US defended desperately, Fiji sort of played down to the U.S. level and it was a poor game of rugby. Fiji could have put up 50 had they been sharper. This was just the Eagles hanging on as best they could.
Going to the Scotland Women v Fiji Women in Edinburgh later very excited. Fiji is my second country I love the way they approach rugby and this is the first encounter between the women so intrigued to see how both teams perform. P.S USA were beaten before they got out of bed.
ProMotion relegation to the rugby championship? Aussie might be better in this league for a year or two… if the winner of next weeks game beats the bottom placed RC team? I’d like to see it in six nations too… Georgia beating wales to be promoted to six nations?😂
Tell you what, I have never watched USA, played 15's .I watched USA 7.. When USA play Fiji last week, I was very surprised, USA ,they play very well. Keep it up USA, l
It’s good to see a little bit of innovation in that back line from the Fijians. Really hard to keep developing though when the backline keeps changing. Tough when not all their best players are available. They do have a habit of getting caught up in just one off running Which won’t work against better teams. The second-half was much better :-)
Forwards on the attack! Best laugh I’ve had for a while. Sadly, these highlights are abysmal. Missed the first two scores, then left out almost half an hour. Looked like it was filmed on a Super 8 camera. World Rugby needs to provide the smaller nations with better equipment.
This is pretty sad to watch, unless you're a Fijian supporter. The USA ought to be a presence in World Rugby, instead of a minnow: they have the population base and already a larger player base than Scotland or Wales, along with a culture of athletic excellence which should feed in to the game there. They probably need more exposure to the game at a higher level; MLR is fine for what it is, but it wouldn´t eclipse NZ´s NPC or South Africa´s Currie Cup for quality. Maybe the creation of an LA or San Francisco-based franchise in Super Rugby Pacific would be a start. It might help their players and coaches raise standards domestically if they have a better product to compare and compete with, similar to how the Jaguares lifted Argentinian rugby during their brief lifespan.
As usual there will be lots of muppets dropping by to laugh at the US.....scared that one day the US will take rugby seriously. The US picked a B team for this game, as they are building squad depth for the next WC qualification process. Two of the guys who played today are students and only one player is plying his trade overseas. The rest all play MLR and most of them have jobs outside of rugby. Some have only been playing rugby for a few years. These guys could have been thrashed by 50 points today, bur they fronted up massively on D against a full strength Fijian team who beat Australia a year ago and are stacked with talent. Canada ran Tonga pretty close too, maybe North American rugby is coming out of its downward spiral?
They (the US) have got a long way to rival Argentina, but yes, in much better shape than Canada. Neither nation will never best the Boks or New Zealand, no matter how seriously they take rugby.
Ahh no this is not a full strength Fijian team, they weren’t able to get their Europe based players either apart from Tuisue who was on the bench and the lock Mayanavanua. It’s an entirely different team than the one that played at the World Cup last year. The same goes for Samoa and Tonga. Many of their players are currently playing in NZ instead. That said, I was still very frustrated at how they played. They should not be happy with this performance at all. Maybe it was the heavy rain, but the amount of poor handling and aimless kicking was shocking.
This was not a full strength Fiji Team, our European based players was not available, Semi Radradra, Nayacalevu, Habosi, Wainiqolo, Peceli yato etc. If it was full strength, this USA team would have been demolished.
Frustrating pattern of play by Fiji during the entire match. They kept hitting it up. They tired themselves out. There were only 4 or 5 occasion where they allowed the ball to flow and allowed them to played their style. The humidity didn't help much too.
USA is better than Samoa & Tonga in this PNC and might be better than Fiji - they have their own competition. Fiji is still a Tier 2 nation but is a punch above it's weight.Fact is they need to play against the best to be the best not downplaying themselves - common sense. The best team put together on their best day defeated England, France , Australia and almost went on to the WC semi finals last year.
@@sly4x692...Fiji just not playing good that day...Fiji could easily thrased USA with a 50 or 80 points but...they just not click it's just one of those days...US does not up to the standard of Fiji rugby...they can't even beat Tonga...what are you saying..if Fiji wants to win, then they'll win simple as that.
Fijian rugby heading in the wrong direction. Captain is a habitual yellow card offender. He needs to be replaced. Could have done better, very disappointed
@@johnhanson5943 how exactly is this happening? Are the rules being changed? Or, because you seem to dislike the USA, should they not be allowed to play? ‘Our’ rugby? How exactly do you own it? It has been played in the US since the late 19th century.
Love the smile from the "big boy" after falling over heading to the open try line near the end!
“Shot by the sniper”🤣
That wasn't a smile. That's his reaction to torn hamstring
@@joshuayoung1935 sincerely hope he's not kept out for long then.
Few things better in rugby than watching Fiji open the taps! Loving it from SA 🇿🇦
"Oh, no! He gets shot by the sniper." Great comment on the big boy tumbling.
That was hilarious.
Could not stop laughing😂at the big man falling over 😂 Hope his not too injured.
He should be replaced to big to slow too fat
… only his pride 😂
I admit I am glad the USA is now playing Rugby. I hope it grows in the USA.
??? USA have been playing rugby for quite a while now you know??
Have you watched any of the “club” rugby? It’s utterly awful
Unfortunately football/soccer is growing much faster there
@@kiboma4209 Because most humans aren't built like rugby players lol. It's also the most popular sport in the world.
@@maverick4177 Blame the foreigners for that, most players are journeymen pros from SA.
Love watching Fiji. My rugby crush.
No wonder that third try was hilarious by Fiji with the prop's hammy almost messing it up.
🤣🤣🤣.."they attack, tackle each other, and still get a try" vinaka na qito boys!
Good luck next time USA. You will only get better after each game.
2:50 Very sneaky of USA to put an invisible defender on the field…👀
It was John Cena 😂
@@DRE-HRUYAN
you can't see me!! hahah
Good game Fiji. It’s hard being a big rugby fan from the US. Maybe one day we will have a rugby team that’s good and a stadium full of cheering crowds! One can hope
You guys need to make it a proper NCAA sport with scholarships
Etc then it’ll become big imo .
Agreed, but hope is not a good strategy. In the early 80's there were two political camps; the bottom up and the top down. Too much pressure on short term results (i.e., future earning$) diluted the bottom up effort. Opportuni$t$ prevailed. So if USA is going to lose USMNT Eagles games, then why not lose with only players from the Youth/Collegiate pathway and incrementally build that pathway. Look at the world rankings then and now. When domestic pathways were the rule the USA Men Eagles were higher ranked than they are now.
That was before rugby went pro and for a few years we had some really good athletes. I think our best squad was the one at the RWC hosted by Australia. That was a long time ago.
The rugby being played now IS quite a bit higher standard than 20 years ago. The quality of athlete simply hasn’t improved much. Better skilled, extremely good but non elite athletes means we are going to continue to lose.
Me too! I'm also glad that the USA is playing Rugby
Commentator: Fiji at its very best they attack and tackle each other and still get the try 🤦♂️ 😂😂
That was competitive from USA.
Really competitive n i salute the USA Eagles
No, it wasn’t. Competitive is being able to play in attack and defense. The US defended desperately, Fiji sort of played down to the U.S. level and it was a poor game of rugby. Fiji could have put up 50 had they been sharper. This was just the Eagles hanging on as best they could.
3:24 woops, there goes gravity
Lekker Fiji 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦
Peni Ravai the comedian of the match, all the best in the finals fiji.
ohh! unlucky Big Ben Ravai!!
I hoping he'd score that try!!
and what about the cheeky looks from Ravula at the end.....
That dive with the ball was a thing of beauty! 😂
Going to the Scotland Women v Fiji Women in Edinburgh later very excited. Fiji is my second country I love the way they approach rugby and this is the first encounter between the women so intrigued to see how both teams perform. P.S USA were beaten before they got out of bed.
Women should not play rugby.
Congratulations
Caleb Muntz is one of Fiji's best defenders
Great win Fiji, you played well. USA not your day but played a good game. From WRU fan
Happy for Fiji 🎉❤
It’s pretty much fiji and Samoa at this point and I’m hyped for the final
pffft samoa is losing to japan
Yeah and png are still trash to benin a competition 😂@@Irongaint
What made you think samoa was gonna make the final?
@@IrongaintRugby Culture and historically being better than Japan until recently (around 2010s when they beat Scotland)
samoa huh.... about that
Thank you world rugby for putting us in a weaker competition than we deserve......youre succeeding in dropping fijis quality of rugby
Agree 👍, too good to be there .
Did you win by 60 no bro !!! Your in the right competition
Careful, you are playing Japan next week. Something tells me that won't be an easy match for you. It is not like you thrashed the U.S.A. either.
Nah dude you're in the right comp
ProMotion relegation to the rugby championship? Aussie might be better in this league for a year or two… if the winner of next weeks game beats the bottom placed RC team? I’d like to see it in six nations too… Georgia beating wales to be promoted to six nations?😂
Tell you what, I have never watched USA, played 15's .I watched USA 7.. When USA play Fiji last week, I was very surprised, USA ,they play very well. Keep it up USA, l
Haha the big man saw his name in lights and stumbled on the breeze! 😂
I love u Fiji go all the way.
It’s good to see a little bit of innovation in that back line from the Fijians. Really hard to keep developing though when the backline keeps changing. Tough when not all their best players are available. They do have a habit of getting caught up in just one off running Which won’t work against better teams. The second-half was much better :-)
Forwards on the attack! Best laugh I’ve had for a while. Sadly, these highlights are abysmal. Missed the first two scores, then left out almost half an hour. Looked like it was filmed on a Super 8 camera. World Rugby needs to provide the smaller nations with better equipment.
That’s because the game was abysmal. I’ve never seen so many handling errors in one game, it was hard to watch.
2:47 amazing
Did you mean "flair" ?
When will the US Men’s get competitive? I’m 70….Can’t wait forever
10 looks offside when getting off the line, but I ain’t a ref so good d and good score !
Actually looks like the US kept this close.
3:19 props are the best from Rugby
Geez that forward pass. The Fijian guy thought he was playing nfl.
Peni Ravai just got tackled by John Cena😂.. good game boys 🇫🇯🇫🇯
Got out of a big embarrassement. This team has played together almost two years but still cant put away a courageous US side. No excuses for Mick
USA looked decent against Japan. These highlights have so little USA in them I can only assume they did not look good.
2:49
この時だけ運動会のお父さんみたいになったな
Those legs ain’t made for striding out past 5-10 yards or so hilarious 😂 USA d up pretty good in this game double down on that
!:54 torward pass to LET Fiji score
worrying are empty seats.............
Try avoidance from the Fiji prop. That’s a drink
This is pretty sad to watch, unless you're a Fijian supporter. The USA ought to be a presence in World Rugby, instead of a minnow: they have the population base and already a larger player base than Scotland or Wales, along with a culture of athletic excellence which should feed in to the game there. They probably need more exposure to the game at a higher level; MLR is fine for what it is, but it wouldn´t eclipse NZ´s NPC or South Africa´s Currie Cup for quality. Maybe the creation of an LA or San Francisco-based franchise in Super Rugby Pacific would be a start. It might help their players and coaches raise standards domestically if they have a better product to compare and compete with, similar to how the Jaguares lifted Argentinian rugby during their brief lifespan.
Fiji needs to improve their next game
lopsided score, but it looks like USA has gotten better at tackling low.
This isn't gonna cut it
Japan will be a better.
My God this years Pacific nations tournament is such a letdown, 80% of the games are just guys dropping the ball
I'm Fijian and agree, its pathetic. no wonder league is taking over Australia
@@kokorice123 they are playing in Japan. In September. It’s brutally hot and humid. The players and the ball are soaking wet.
Karl tenana's commentary on Be ravai 😅😅😅😅😅
How did the U.S. keep it that close?
Does that mean usa can beat samoa and tonga 😂
Bailey Station
As usual there will be lots of muppets dropping by to laugh at the US.....scared that one day the US will take rugby seriously.
The US picked a B team for this game, as they are building squad depth for the next WC qualification process.
Two of the guys who played today are students and only one player is plying his trade overseas. The rest all play MLR and most of them have jobs outside of rugby. Some have only been playing rugby for a few years.
These guys could have been thrashed by 50 points today, bur they fronted up massively on D against a full strength Fijian team who beat Australia a year ago and are stacked with talent.
Canada ran Tonga pretty close too, maybe North American rugby is coming out of its downward spiral?
They (the US) have got a long way to rival Argentina, but yes, in much better shape than Canada.
Neither nation will never best the Boks or New Zealand, no matter how seriously they take rugby.
Ahh no this is not a full strength Fijian team, they weren’t able to get their Europe based players either apart from Tuisue who was on the bench and the lock Mayanavanua. It’s an entirely different team than the one that played at the World Cup last year. The same goes for Samoa and Tonga. Many of their players are currently playing in NZ instead.
That said, I was still very frustrated at how they played. They should not be happy with this performance at all. Maybe it was the heavy rain, but the amount of poor handling and aimless kicking was shocking.
I guess you didn’t watch Canada play. Horrid.
This was not a full strength Fiji Team, our European based players was not available, Semi Radradra, Nayacalevu, Habosi, Wainiqolo, Peceli yato etc.
If it was full strength, this USA team would have been demolished.
This isn't the full strength fiji team 😂😂
Dua tani toka na qito e varaitaka toka o japani....!!!
Caita Peni Ravai🤦🏽🤣🤣🤣
Frustrating pattern of play by Fiji during the entire match. They kept hitting it up. They tired themselves out. There were only 4 or 5 occasion where they allowed the ball to flow and allowed them to played their style. The humidity didn't help much too.
What not whooping whooping from the USA in the faces of their opponents? Funny that they only sing when they are winning 😂
Moore Jose Walker Susan Perez Thomas
Johnson Angela Martin Patricia Lewis Brian
This game was an eye sore for me from Fiji..the inconsistencies to keep the ball and continuing play is just not there. Ugly game
Thats why they are a Tia 2 country
😂😂
Fiji scrap rugby hope coaching staff feed them with some positive attitude of rugby
USA tackling just terrible
Lmao and fijian fans think they deserve to be in the rugby championship? Fiji are where they belong and thats in the tier 2 competition 😂
correct
As a fijian you're correct, some fijians are delusional
USA is better than Samoa & Tonga in this PNC and might be better than Fiji - they have their own competition. Fiji is still a Tier 2 nation but is a punch above it's weight.Fact is they need to play against the best to be the best not downplaying themselves - common sense. The best team put together on their best day defeated England, France , Australia and almost went on to the WC semi finals last year.
@@sly4x692...Fiji just not playing good that day...Fiji could easily thrased USA with a 50 or 80 points but...they just not click it's just one of those days...US does not up to the standard of Fiji rugby...they can't even beat Tonga...what are you saying..if Fiji wants to win, then they'll win simple as that.
Fijian rugby heading in the wrong direction. Captain is a habitual yellow card offender. He needs to be replaced. Could have done better, very disappointed
A great shame our rugby is being americaniswd - and via the next RWC.
@@johnhanson5943 how exactly is this happening? Are the rules being changed? Or, because you seem to dislike the USA, should they not be allowed to play? ‘Our’ rugby? How exactly do you own it? It has been played in the US since the late 19th century.
22909 Gleason Mills