Sonny Bill Williams and Waisake Naholo put in outstanding performances as All Blacks are crunched
While the All Blacks were getting it handed to them in Perth. Two Kiwi rejects were putting in stellar performances for their respective teams in the Mitre 10 Cup. Sonny Bill Williams was playing for Counties Manukau while Waisake Naholo was playing for Taranaki.
Sonny Bill Williams from the offset of this game put in a fantastic offload to help his team get the first score on the board. Will the All Blacks have missed this when they were taking on Australia?
CREDIT: All Blacks
Similarly, for the opposite side, Waisake Naholo was causing untold problems for Manukua with his speed and handling on the wing devastating the opposition defence. Naholo will be joining London Irish next year but it’s clear the All Blacks missed a trick because this lad is still at his very peak. Would Naholo have got bounced as easily as Barrett was today. I think not
CREDIT: All Blacks
Naholo out of these two surely should be given a chance with the All Blacks, otherwise the battering that New Zealand took today could become a lot more common.
In other news: Japan win World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup
Japan claim their third Pacific Nations Cup title with victory over the USA
Vereniki Goneva enters the record books in Fiji’s win over Samoa
Tonga end tournament on a high with win over Canada
All eyes now turn to Rugby World Cup 2019 as excitement builds
Rugby World Cup 2019 hosts Japan will head into their home tournament as World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup champions.
The Brave Blossoms claimed their third Pacific Nations Cup title on Saturday, thanks to an impressive 34-20 bonus-point win over the USA at ANZ Stadium in Suva.
Both teams went into the final round unbeaten with the Eagles dreaming of a first-ever Pacific Nations Cup crown, but Japan took an early lead after four minutes and refused to relinquish it, continuing their encouraging form with a third successive win in this year’s tournament.
In the second game of the day hosts Fiji leapfrogged the Eagles as they held on to beat Samoa 10-3.
Samoa dominated territory and possession in Suva but were unable to breach the goal line, and were ultimately defeated by a record-breaking Vereniki Goneva try. The try – Goneva’s 21st for his country – saw him become Fiji’s highest-ever try-scorer as he touched down shortly after halftime.
On Friday, Tonga ended their Pacific Nations Cup campaign on a high as they secured a 33-23 victory over Canada at Churchill Park in Fiji.
