Wellington against international teams: versus Fiji 1988

Match Details

Result: Wellington 42 – Fiji 21
When: 17 April 1988
Weather: Fine, surface hard and fast:
Crowd: 20,000

The Tour

A South Pacific Championship (SPC) match.

This was one of four early season matches Wellington was to play at home against Fiji between 1986-1992 as part of the SPC.

The SPC was a forerunner to Super Rugby, instigated by the New South Wales and Queensland unions to give them more meaningful games. The six-team SPC involved the two leading Australian provinces at the time, Wellington, Auckland and Canterbury and Fiji who were then  the strongest Pacific Island rugby nation.

Wellington won all their SPC home games over Fiji, in 1986 (won 43-17), in this game in 1988 (won 42-21), in 1990 won (34-10) and in 1992 (won 43-10). Wellington also played Fiji in Suva in 1987 (lost 16-23) and 1989 (lost 9-18) during this time. There was no tournament in 1991 owing to preparations for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

Wellington’s overall record in the SPC was poor. They finished bottom of the heap twice, fifth once and fourth twice. Fiji’s best finish was fourth, but they played many of their matches away from home in foreign conditions. 

In 1988, Wellington finished second in the SPC – after opening with a 9-23 defeat to Queensland in Brisbane and losing to Auckland 0-58 at Eden Park.

There was this 42-21 win at Athletic Park over Fiji, followed by a 22-16 win over New South Wales and a 21-15 win over Canterbury in Christchurch.

The Match

Wellington’s flankers Dirk Williams and Mike ‘O’Leary both scored two tries each and halfback and stand-in goal-kicker Neil Sorenson kicked eight from nine attempts and 18 points.

Williams had just recently returned from a stint playing for Harlequins in England and wad the Player of the Match, “scoring two tries and was never far from the ball in an exhilarating performance,” said the Dominion afterwards.

Wellington captain Sorenson was taking over the kicking duties from John Gallagher who withdrew from the side injured pre-match.

Wellington won the match by six tries to four. In a free-wheeling match, a combined 25 points were scored in one 15 minute period midway through the first half and three tries scored in as many minutes.

Two of Fiji’s tries were scored by second five-eighth Noa Nadruku, who went on have a glittering 92-game career in rugby league for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL in the 1990s.

Though he was named in the reserves, the match was also the Wellington debut of former All Blacks and Bay of Plenty hooker Hika Reid, who went on to play a starring role in Wellington’s 38-22 win over Wales several weeks later.

New Wellington fullback Naera Parata opened the scoring with the game’s first try. Nadruku scored the next try and Fiji took the lead when halfback Mesake Seavula slipped through. Fiji led 17-15 at the interval after having the breeze at their backs in the first half.

Wellington tightened up their game early in the second half and breakaway Williams scored twice to put them back in front, 27-17 after 60 minutes. Nadruku crossed for this brace to close the gap, but Wellington pulled ahead with two further tries to O’Leary in the 69th and 73rd minutes and they took the win.

Fiji went on to beat both Australian sides after this, thumping the Waratahs 29-10 and Queensland 34-9.

Wellington progressed to beat the touring Welsh side and then finished second in the NPC -in what was to prove their best finish in over a decade following.

References:

• The Dominion and Evening Post newspapers, April1988
• WRFU. The Winds of Change: Wellington’s Rugby History Part 3 1979-2004. WRFU, 2004.
• McIlraith, Matt (2005). Ten Years of Super 12. Hodder Moa