14-men Naitasiri edge Nadi at home

14-men Naitasiri came from behind to beat defending Skipper Cup champions and Inkk Farebrother title holders Nadi 16-14 in Round 2 of the Skipper Cup Competition at Prince Charles Park on Saturday.

The 30 men arm wrestled for the opening 10 minutes on the field before Naitasiri gave away a penalty to Nadi when Tomasi Naiduki was caught in a deliberate infringement.

Former Ratu Navula College student and fly-half Rafalele Tunidau slotted the penalty in between the uprights to give Nadi a 3-nil lead in the 11^th minute.

Three minutes later, an aerial clash by Naitasiri’s Jone Navuso on Joseva Vuniyawa saw the match official pointing for a second penalty in favor of Nadi and again Tunidau kicked in between the posts.

In the 17^th minute, Dr Ilaitia Tuisese coached Naitasiri was reduced to 14 players when the referee flashed a yellow card to tight head prop Solomone Navuso for a dangerous tackle on Tunidau.

Soon after, when Naitasiri did not have a tight head on the field for a scrum, reserve prop Ilaitia Sela took the field, sacrificing Malakai Namalo to the bench.

Despite being a man down, Naitasiri continued to put on a courageous performance smashing through the Nadi defence.

A defensive blunder by Nadi gifted a penalty to Naitasiri and experienced kicker Etonia Rokotuisawa made no mistake in his kick and got them the three points in the 27^th minute.

Naitasiri received their second penalty in the 29^th minute when Meli Rokoua was caught for a high tackle on Jone Navuso and Rokotuisawa aimed to lock the result at 6-6 but his kick fell short.

After a breakdown in the Nadi defence in the 31^st minute, unmarked Naitasiri openside flanker Tomasi Naiduki picked up the loose ball and bulldozed through the line to score the opening try.

Rokotuisawa converted to give Naitaisiri a 10-6 lead for the first time in the match.

The hosts looked hungry to make a comeback in the match as Naitasiri forwards were caught in an offside position which saw the referee awarding a penalty to Nadi which Tunidau took in the 37^th minute and merged the score line to 10-9.

A minute away from the break, second-row forward Simione Nawai put the fans on their feet when he got over the try line and scored Nadi’s first try.

Tunidau failed with the conversion attempt yet, Nadi went into the changing room with a 14-10 lead.

Early in the second spell, ball-handling errors prevailed from Nadi and due to a fumble in the scrum, Naitasiri secured a penalty which Rokotuisawa took and kicked through the posts to make it 13-14 in the 44^th minute.

Naitasiri had the chance to change the lead after receiving their second penalty in the second stanza of the game but Rokotuisawa failed with the attempt in the 50^th minute.

However, a ball held late by Nadi’s backline gave away a penalty to Naitasiri in the 68^th minute and Rokotuisawa slotted the ball between the posts for a 16-14 lead.

In the final seven minutes of the play, Naitasiri was again reduced to 14 players when Ilaitia Sela copped a yellow card for a dangerous play on a Nadi player but the scores remained unchanged despite the jet setters putting up a strong battle.

In another match, Suva defeated Yasawa 35-25.

The teams:

Nadi: Tomasi Nawaqa, Maikeli Sivo, Samuela Bulutaka, Samuela Lave, Simione Nawai, Semi Kunatani, Meli Rokoua, Ilisoni Galala (C), Anasa Raqili, Rafaele Tunidau, Sairusi Tanidrala, Joseva Vuniyawa, Joseva Namisi, Anasa Namaqa, Raymond Karasini.

Naitasiri: Asiveli Rokua, Jone Naqiri, Solomone Navuso, Sitiveni Kaila, Atonio Sova, Samuela Rasavucala, Tomasi Naiduki, Malakai Namalo, Jone Navuso, Kini Douglas, Temesi Tora, Vatemosi Volauca, Uraia Torau, Vatili Vosawale, Etonia Rokotuisawa (C).