Fiji player ratings vs Ireland | Nations Championship 2026

On a weekend of historic upsets in the Nations Championship, Fiji entered the Aviva Stadium with audacious optimism.

The first half was tight, with Fiji edging ahead in the 23rd minute and going into the halftime break trailing by just three points. The game slipped away from the visitors in the second half, however, with a 53rd-minute yellow card punished with two tries in the following 10 minutes, and another two saw Ireland emerge as 43-15 victors.

Here’s how they rated.

1. Peni Ravai – 8
The 36-year-old is aging like fine wine, and looked anything but off the pace in Dublin. His scrummaging was powerful at times, just unfortunately not matched by his fellow prop. The 51-Test veteran provided some big impact in the contact area, tackling well throughout his minutes. There was a moment of poor ball handling, but it had already gone loose.

2. Tevita Ikanivere – 7
The hooker was guilty of a couple of knock-ons in the opening minutes, while the lineout was out of sync early on. His throwing, however, looked to be largely on the money. Ikanivere took over the captaincy when Peceli Yato left the field and led with his usual abrasive defence.

3. Luke Tagi – 2
It was a tough old night at the office for Tagi up against Andrew Porter. He was penalised in the first scrum of the game, giving Ireland a clean exit, and then penalised again shortly after for not rolling out of the ruck quickly enough. Couldn’t match Ravai’s power in a 32nd-minute scrum and was again penalised as a result. Started the second half by conceding yet another scrum penalty. Knocked the ball on in the 51st minute and was replaced shortly after.

4. Joseva Tamani – 5
The chemistry wasn’t quite right on one of Fiji’s more complex lineout moves early, leaving Tamani jumping late. The lock tended to carry quite upright into contact, but had a good presence at the breakdown, pushing Ireland back over their own tryline in the 49th minute.

5. Isoa Nasilasila – 6
The big lock provided great physicality in tight, but missed four tackles in the first half alone and couldn’t quite get up for the 32nd-minute lineout, knocking on the ball as his side sought a half-time lead. There were lineouts where Fiji barely got off the ground at all, costing them dearly in such a close contest. Nasilasila did apply some pressure on Gibson-Park’s box-kicking throughout the evening.

6. Mesake Vocevoce – 5
Vocevoce was a touch slow in an early clearout, which allowed Andrew Porter to get the steal, and was later penalised for a side entry. He had some better moments around the ruck and tackled well, but this was not a performance that solved the blindside flanker problem Jake White has discovered early in his time at the helm.

7. Lekima Tagitagivalu – 5
The openside made a great effort to save Fiji from a Jamison Gibson-Park try early on. He didn’t always have his hands ready at the line, spilling Frank Lomani’s pass in one crucial period of play while the game still hung in the balance. Tagitagivalu’s work rate and success rate on defence were better than the bulk of his fellow Fijians.

8. Peceli Yato – 8
The captain had a strong presence in the Test, winning contact and making opportunistic plays. His pick-and-go in the lead-up to the try he finished was a big moment for Fiji, and his support line shortly after was the cherry on top, even if his dive for the line did injure him.

9. Frank Lomani – 6.5
Lomani’s contestable kicking length was superbly weighted, allowing his wingers to apply plenty of pressure. The halfback picked out a charging Joshua Tuisova well at the line, seeing the big midfield wrecking ball score Fiji’s first try. His decision-making faltered in the second half, with one or two bizarre kicks that did not work out for his side. A poor pass ended his team’s period of momentum in the 51st minute when they trailed by seven. Dropped off a game-high seven tackles.

10. Ben Volavola – 7
Fiji were in desperate need of some game-driving expertise after a woeful performance in that respect against France, and Volavola did contribute some better game management for his team. His few long-range kicks were well executed. Didn’t have the pace to finish the play when he charged down Sam Prendergast’s kick, but it was a momentum win for his team.

11. Jiuta Wainiqolo – 8.5
Electric whenever the opportunity presented itself. Broke tackles and delivered the try assist for Yato’s 23rd-minute try. Two dominant tackles in the first half alone and more of the powerful counter-rucking we saw last week in France. Was guilty of one aimless kick in the first half but chased and competed superbly under the high ball. Almost produced a try only he could score in the final minutes of the match, just knocking the ball on over the line.

12. Josua Tuisova – 6
The big inside centre knows how to inject himself, and certainly did that with a hard running line for Fiji’s first try. Outside of that, he was rarely put in a position to carry on the front foot, and Fiji didn’t benefit much from his power as a result.

13. Setareki Bituniyata – 3
Bituniyata is another Fijian who has only recently shifted from the wing to midfield that new head coach Jake White has thrown into the mix, and much like last week, the selection had some good moments on attack and very poor moments on defence. The centre offered a nice injection of power at the line on attack and won an early breakdown turnover for his side. He then bit in for no apparent reason on defence in the seventh minute, offering Ireland space to exploit, which they did, leading to their first try of the Test. He continued to find himself out of position or indecisive defensively throughout the Test.

14. Selestino Ravutaumada – 8.5
Ravutaumada chased hard from the outset, getting in his opposite Tommy O’Brien’s face on the opening kick-off and influencing a mistake from him under the high ball a minute later. His defensive line speed and execution was excellent, and he made the most of his very few attacking opportunities.

15. Ponipate Loganimasi – 5
The fullback had some strong moments under the high ball but had limited opportunities with the ball in hand. His knock-on in the 57th minute was costly, and he was then put in the difficult position of covering the backfield while his side was down a man, with Prendergast exploiting the resulting space to set up a decisive sixth try for the hosts.

Reserves – 4

Kitione Salawa entered the Test in the 25th minute for Piceli Yato and showed again to be one of the more underrated players in Test rugby. Unfortunately, Inoke Ravuiwasa’s introduction wasn’t as positive, with the big prop yellow-carded within a minute of being on the field. His fellow front-rower Vilikesa Nairau had the ball stripped not long after, and was then late to a clearout after a trick play at the lineout that allowed Ireland to get their hands on the ball and win the penalty.