Fiji sweep Cherry Blossoms aside

Fiji 41 Japan 13

Should France beat the Scots tomorrow, as expected, Fiji and Scotland will play off for second place in Pool B which will guarantee a quarter final against the winners of Pool A, who are likely to be Australia.

Both sides struggled to come to terms with slippery conditions in Townsville and the match was riddled with handling errors.

Fiji were off the mark early on with a Waisale Serevi penalty, but Japan, with a strong wind behind them in the first half, fought back straight away.

New Zealand-born fly-half Andrew Miller kicked a penalty for Japan in reply to Serevi's effort before the maverick Fijian sevens player was forced to withdraw with a shoulder injury.

Serevi's tenth-minute withdrawal may prove to be the last the rugby world gets to see of the inspirational fly-half, and if so, will prove a sad end to a wonderful international career.

He was replaced by first choice fly-half Nicky Little, who began by restoring the islanders three-point lead with another penalty.

Japan restored parity when Miller boldly dropped a goal from his own half.

Fiji then took a lead they wouldn't surrender, scoring two tries in four minutes, with full back Norman Ligairi finishing a move he started after good work from centre Seru Rabeni, and then Aisea Tuilevu crossing on the opposite wing.

Miller converted his own try to bring the score back to 16-13 after 28 minutes; the end of Japan's scoring in this game and their hopes of progressing from the pool stage.

At half time the Fijian lead remained at three points, but now playing into the strong wind, Japan rarely looked like causing an unlikely upset as Nicky Little penned the Cherry Blossoms back in their own half by kicking much of their second half possession.

Fiji scored their third try Tuilevu's second after 49 minutes in a move that travelled through all the backs' hands. Little converted and also kicked a 55th-minute penalty to give Fiji a 16-point cushion.

Norman Ligairi produced the best moment of the game after 65 minutes when he chipped ahead of the flat Japanese defence, hacked on towards the try line and then scooped up the ball with one hand as he dived over to secure the bonus point.

Replacement Marika Vunibaka scored Fiji's fifth try and Nicky Little added another penalty to complete the scoring.

FIJI: Ligairi, Tuilevu, Ruivadra, Rabeni, Delasau, Serevi, Rabaka, Rasila, Smith, Vetayaki, Katalau, Leawere, Mocelutu, Sewabu, Doviverata. Replacements: Vunibaka for Ruivadra (70), Little for Serevi (12), Rauluni for Rabaka (51), Gadolo for Smith (74), Seru for Vetayaki (70), Maimuri for Leawere (57), Koyamaibole for Mocelutu (19).

JAPAN: Matsuda, Ohata, Parkinson, Motoki, Onozowa, Miller, Tauji, Yamamoto, Sakata, Toyoyama, Kiso, Parker, Okubo, Miuchi, Ito. Replacements: Kubo for Matsuda (74), Konia for Onozowa (70), Sonoda for Tauji (52), Kurihara for Yamamoto (60), Hasegawa for Sakata (60), Amino for Kiso (52), Asano for Ito (74).

Ref: Nigel Williams (Wales).