Samoa battle back to tie Fiji

Flyhalf Michael Stanley converted a penalty in the final moments as Samoa stormed back to tie Fiji 30-30 at the Pacific Nations Cup.

Anthony Perenise, Paul Perez and TJ Ioane each scored second-half tries for Samoa, who beat the USA 21-16 in their opening game last Saturday.

In the other contests Friday, the USA held on to beat Japan 23-18 and Tonga stopped Canada 28-18.

Fullback Metuisela Talebula and Leone Nakarawa scored tries as Fiji wasted no time getting on the board before leading 17-10 at halftime.

Gabiriele Lovobalavu scored Fiji's fourth try early in the second half and, after flyhalf Ben Volavola converted to make it 27-10, it looked like the Fijians were off to the races.

But the Samoans roared back and were able to level the score at 27-27 with five minutes left in regulation time.

Volavola kicked a penalty three minutes later and Fiji were back on top by three points. That set the stage for Stanley's penalty goal just before the final whistle to make it 30-all.

Samoa's next game is Wednesday against winless Canada, while Fiji face Japan on the same day.

The USA recovered from an opening-round loss to Samoa with a confidence-building victory over Japan at Bonney Field in Sacramento, California.

AJ MacGinty nailed two penalty goals just three minutes apart to tie the contest 18-18 in the 65th minute. The Americans then took a decisive 23-18 lead in the 68th minute as the line forced its way in for the try.

The USA got a break in the dying moments when New Zealand-born Japanese player Michael Broadhurst was slapped with a yellow card which snuffed out a late scoring chance.

The Americans played Friday without veteran flanker and ex-captain Todd Clever, who was released from the team for "multiple conduct violations."

In a night game at Vancouver's Swangard Stadium, Tonga earned their first win of the tournament as they overcame a slow start to beat Canada.

Sonatane Takulua scored two tries as Tonga rebounded from a first-round 30-22 loss to Fiji.

Aaron Carpenter mustered two tries for Canada, who led 15-10 at the half.
Source: AFP