Game 15 - South Africa v Fiji - Wellington Regional Stadium - 17th Sept 2011

What a splendid experience it was to enjoy the passion of this tournament at the Cake Tin. The crowd seemed to consist of 1/3rd passionate South Africans, 1/3rd passionate Fijians and 1/3rd Kiwis who mostly seem to be backing Fiji.

As a Fijian born New Zealander I was fully behind the team in white, and I believed for the first 20 minutes before it all turned to custard.

Fiji played with fire, strength, bravery and determination. It didn't get them anywhere.
They must have strung together dozens of phases that were 95% effective. Sadly there was always a mistake. A dropped pass here, a turnover there, a poor kicking option, a failed grounding, a forward pass, a silly penalty... all night long.

What was worse was that the mistakes often occurred just when the Boks were on the verge of succumbing. The Springboks on the other hand were happy to soak up the pressure and then when handed the turnovers, counter attack with deadly precision.

The game was surprisingly even given the final score line, but while the South Africans executed almost perfectly, the Fijians failed to execute at all.

The final score of 49-3 was Fiji's worst result since the inaugural RWC. It was also a great stepping stone for a South African team who are most definitely building. The Fijians threw everything at them and South Africa's defence stayed fast, unlike the All Blacks in both games so far.

The All Blacks, Wallabies, English and French will watch replays of this game and wonder how tough a nut the Boks will be for them to crack.

Final score: South Africa 49 - Fiji 3

15 games 82 tries.

Tweet of the match- "Poor Fiji. Trying so hard & still getting shut down at every turn. This is the big leagues now boys" @moniera

Fiji supporters at the stadium

These Fijian/NZ kids were chanting "FIJI. ALL BLACKS. FIJI. ALL BLACKS"