Fiji took on Trinidad and Tobago in the 11 th place playoff at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town already assured of a better finish than their last World Cup appearance in Liverpool four years ago where they finished 14th .
A spirited performance saw them claiming a convincing 71-39 win to climb two spots on their previous result. The Fiji Pearls looked by far the hungrier of the teams as they took to the court, finding their rhythm early to pull away from the Calypso Girls, who seemed to be lacking energy. That saw them 5-1 up within the first five minutes of the match.
With their defenders applying plenty of pressure to turn the ball over, Fiji pounced on all their opportunities to extend that lead. Trinidad and Tobago coach Joel Young-Strong brought on captain Shaquanda Greene-Noel at goalkeeper 10 minutes into the first quarter to replace Daystar Swift, but Fiji continued to score at will, racing ahead to a 17-8 lead by the first break.
Unaisi Rauluni was particularly impressive in the Fiji circle, shooting at an average of 91 per cent in the first half as Fiji continued to rack up the goals in the second quarter to reach halftime 34-15 up.
Trinidad and Tobago came back a little stronger in the third quarter while a host of changes for Fiji meant they lost some of their rhythm.
That saw the sides separated by just two goals in the quarter score (Fiji winning it 15-13) but the damage that the Pearls had done in the first half meant they took a 21-goal lead into the final period. Fiji found more fluidity when Maliana Rusivakula rejoined Rauluni in the circle, the duo working well together to extend the Pearls’ lead even further.
As she has done throughout the tournament, coach Unaisi Rokoura continued to ring in the changes in the final minutes of the match but her side kept up the pace, wrapping up a 71-37 win and with that, securing 11 th place.
Speaking after the match, an elated Fiji captain, Maria Lutua-Rusivakula, said: “It’s absolutely good. To come out here with a young squad – our aim was to progress from where we left off at the last World Cup and I think everyone really stepped up and put in 100 per cent, so going home, we’re happy that we have progressed from the last time.
“We wanted to finish off on a high. We’ve worked hard and worked strong and wanted to go out with a win so we came out hungry and we said we’re not going to go home without a win, so I think the girls showed that on court today.”
