Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup semi-finals team of the week

It was the end of the road for two teams in the penultimate week of the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup, but, for the rest of the competition, a spot in Osaka’s final was within reach.

Desperate to go out on a high Tonga emerged victorious in the consolation final, sending Canada home without a win to their name despite boasting perhaps the competition’s strongest set piece.

Samoa and the USA were each dismissed in their semi-finals and will head to Osaka to fight it out for third place before the grand final sees the two heavyweights Fiji and Japan tussle for gold.

There were plenty of stand-out performers, but if an all-star cast were to be assembled based purely on round four of this competition, here’s who would earn the call-up.

Pacific Nations Cup team of the week

1. Eroni Mawi, Fiji

Against a hard-hitting and fast-starting USA team, Fiji looked to their set-piece game to swing play back in their favour. The front row were the defining force in generating momentum after being on the back foot early, and from that momentum, the Fundamental Fijians returned to the familiar Flying Fijians with dynamic play across the park.

Mawi contributed nine tackles in addition to his set piece work, also contributing two tackle breaks on his five carries.

2. Sama Mololo, Samoa

The defensive workhorse that is Sama Mololo made his presence felt throughout his 61 minutes on the field in Tokyo, making 18 tackles while being a cunning and relentless force defending Japan’s lineout mauls.

The impressive individual performance was undermined by Japan’s superiority in the set piece game but were Samoa’s forward pack comprised of eight Sama Mololo’s, the side’s performance may have looked very different.

3. Conor Young, Canada

The Canadian set piece was immaculate throughout their ultimately unsuccessful Pacific Nations Cup campaign, producing a near-flawless success rate in both the scrum and lineout.

Young’s stats project a quiet performance from the contest vs Tonga but with 11 scrums and 18 lineouts, the prop kept himself busy for his hour on the field.

4. Mason Flesch, Canada

Behind every dominant front row is an unsung hero of a lock and Flesch deserves a share of the credit for Canada’s strength up front.

The 24-year-old contributed a well-rounded performance for his side, making the second-most tackles of any Canadian while balancing his carry game with his distributions and winning a turnover. All without seeing any unwanted attention from the whistle.

5. Isoa Nasilasila, Fiji

While the Fijian young gun didn’t get as many chances to stretch his legs in open play as we’ve seen in the past, he made the most of his minutes with a robust contribution for his side.

The Fijian lineout operated with near-flawless precision to complement a powerful scrum, and Nasilasila was busy in the traditional forward work.

Around the park, the big man got his hands on the ball 10 times, making three tackle breaks while leading his team defensively with 11 tackles to his name. Two turnover wins capped a strong performance for the second-rower.

6. Siosiua Moala, Tonga

A man among boys, Moala was immense across his 70 minutes in the Tokyo heat. The blindside chewed through 18 tackles, an impressive figure that still doesn’t do his effort justice.

Moala could be seen sprinting up out of the Tongan defensive line to intimidate Canadian first receivers if not barrelling them into the ground behind the gain line, dragging players to their knees in dynamic scenarios and repelling attempts at the line when his side’s backs were against the wall.

A try off the back of a rolling maul was a just reward for his inspirational performance.

Honourable mention: Amato Fakatava, Japan

7. Iakopo Petelo-Mapu, Samoa

It wasn’t the No. 7 jersey that the Samoan donned on the weekend, but amongst an immensely talented field, Petelo-Mapu’s work rate stood out above the rest and deserved a spot in this week’s team.

The industrious No. 8 led the entire round with 25 tackles and made an otherwise dominant Japan side feel every single one of them. The 26-year-old was destructive with the ball in hand as well, breaking a handful of tackles and was almost singlehandedly responsible for Japan head coach Eddie Jones’ initial post-match analysis that his side needed to improve their defence around the ruck ahead of this weekend’s final.

Honourable mention: Kanji Shimokawa, Japan

Tuitama gets @manusamoa on the board 💪#PacificNationsCup | #JPNvSAM pic.twitter.com/pc0UJWlPBC

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) September 15, 2024

8. Elia Canakaivata, Fiji

It was a week of inspirational No. 8 efforts making this position the hardest to select of all. Canakaivata gets the nod for his role in turning the momentum of Fiji’s semi-final against the USA with his strong ball-running.

Replacing Albert Tuisue as the starting No. 8 after scoring two tries at openside flanker against Tonga, the Fijian powerhouse backed up that effort with another two-try performance in Tokyo.

The brutality of Canakaivata’s contact-area performance and his finishing prowess will no doubt be atop Japan’s scouting report ahead of the final. 14 carries for 78 metres in under an hour on the field displays his usage rate and value to this side.

Honourable mentions: Lotu Inisi, Tonga and Thomas Tu’avao, USA

9. Shinobu Fujiwara, Japan

The Brave Blossoms are playing at break-neck speed under Eddie Jones and Fujiwara is proving more than up to the task of facilitating this rapid attack.

The halfback’s feel for the game was evident throughout his performance on Sunday, anticipating where play would end up and being right on the money for snappy delivery after snappy delivery.

With Seungsin Lee shifted to fullback after two impressive performances at No. 10, Fujiwara had playmakers on either side of him as well as his powerful ball runners and was decisive in finding his intended targets.

10. Pat Pelligrini, Tonga

Pelligrini provided exactly what Tonga needed from him in the consolation final, finding the touchline with good gains and converting crucial points at crucial moments.

The Man of the Match performance saw Moana Pasifika’s new playmaker make a round-high of 13 kicks in open play, including a superb 50-22 during a Tongan counter-attack, a moment where he could’ve easily looked to make the hero play with the ball in hand but instead had the presence of mind to look up and assess all his options.

Two try assists in the game proved his playmaking prowess. His first of which saw the flyhalf patiently wait for the defence to fly out of the way before unleashing a floating ball wide to the touchline, putting John Tapueluelu in space to score. His second was a short ball under pressure, delivered with the Canadian defence right in his face.

Honourable mention: Caleb Muntz, Fiji and Rodney Iona, Samoa

11. John Tapueluelu, Tonga

Four line breaks on 10 carries producing two tries along with a handful of impressive and well-executed defensive reads made Tapueluelu’s performance the pick of the bunch among a field of talented athletes on the left wing.

Add to that five tackle breaks and two offloads and you can see how the speedster was giving the Canadian defence headaches.

12. Fetuli Paea, Tonga

Off an underperforming set-piece, Paea was able to generate front-foot ball for Tonga on a consistent basis.

Defensively, the 30-year-old contributed the most tackles of any back in the contest and offered himself as a secondary playmaker, contributing a number of cross-field kicks as well as clean passing distribution to the speedsters outside him. He walked off the field at the end of the game having made six kicks in total.

Honourable mention: Tavite Lopeti, USA

13. Dylan Riley, Japan

As consistent as they come, Riley impressed on both sides of the ball in Japan’s rout of Samoa, scoring a try and busting three tackles on his 10 carries.

With an attack that demands so much of its backline, Riley’s well-rounded game is proving invaluable to Japan and the 27-year-old promises to be a star of the incoming era of Japan rugby.

14. Malo Tuitama, Japan

The Japanese finishers had a party at Samoa’s expense on Sunday and Tuitama, although playing on the left wing, showed up all over the park for his side.

Leading a dynamic game in metres carried off his 11 efforts with the ball in hand while making four tackle busts ensured Japan’s power game up front was rewarded with gains out wide.

15. Seungsin Lee, Japan

The budding star is generating quite the hype train here in Japan, as evidenced by the roar from the Tokyo crowd when his name was called during the pregame team announcements.

leading the round with 17 points to his name, Lee took to the duties of an international fullback with ease, delivering a composed and creative performance from the backfield. A perfect night off the tee saw his team to 49 total points in the contest while igniting attack left and right.

Honourable mention: Toby Fricker, USA and Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, Fiji

Japan bring the heat to open the scoring in the second half 😮‍💨#PacificNationsCup | #JPNvSAM | @JRFURugby pic.twitter.com/isRT3m0K5n

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) September 15, 2024