Rising star Mark Nawaqanitawase, who shares links to Fiji, scored a try in NSW Waratahs narrow 34-27 defeat to the Melbourne Rebels in Round 3 of the Super Rugby Pacific on Friday.
The Waratahs shed the first blood in the match after a successful Tane Edmed penalty in the third minute but the Rebels responded in style with two converted tries from Reece Hodge and Lachie Anderson but Hodge converted once only.
The Rebels gave away another penalty to Waratahs which Edmed booted beautifully and again the Rebels gave in a harsh response with another try from Richard Hardwick for a 17-6 lead at the break.
Early in the second half, a set-up from Izaia Perese and Lalakai Foketi to Nawaqanitawase saw him score the opening try for the Tahs in the 47th minute and Edmed converted to merge the score.
After a hard tussle, Waratahs scored another try from super sub Charlie Gamble which Edmed converted but Matt Gibbon and Carter Gordon scored two converted tries for the Rebels and Reece added a penalty.
In the final few minutes of the match, Taleni Seu came off the bench to score the last try for the Waratahs and Edmed slotted the conversion but it wasn’t enough for a win.
