Nine tries were scored by Storm players across Week 3 of World Cup action.
It all started with yet another scintillating performance from Suliasi Vunivalu who scored his second half hat-trick in just eight minutes during a fiery clash against Italy – his first try came from a 60 metre dash out of dummy half. Tui Kamikamica was again rock solid at lock for Fiji with 137 metres.
In his second game for Australia, Cameron Munster produced yet another double including the first of the night. Munster’s second try saw him put the step on the Lebanon defence not once, not twice but three times before crossing the line. Felise Kaufusi put in a good performance starting in the No.13 with 27 tackles in 59 minutes while Cameron Smith played just 40 minutes, leaving him primed for the knockout stages.
New Zealand may have suffered an upset loss to Tonga but it was not from a lack of effort from Nelson Asofa-Solomona. The young Storm forward was again dominant, running for the equal most metres of any Kiwi prop. NAS came off the bench in the 19th minute with his side trailing 2-nil but instantly swung the momentum the Kiwis’ way to help them to a 16-2 half-time lead.
Young Tonumaipea ran for more metres than any other player on the field and his second half try tied the game to give Samoa the single point they needed to progress to the quarter finals.
Justin Olam played a starring role for the PNG Hunters, also finishing with a game-high metres while matching Vunivalu’s efforts with a hat-trick. His third try late in the game was a 90m intercept to send the PNG faithful into hysterics.
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Storm player stats:
Cameron Munster – 2 tries, 2 line breaks, 104 metres
Felise Kaufusi – 39 metres, 27 tackles, 59 minutes
Cameron Smith – 17 tackles, 42 metres, 40 minutes
Suliasi Vunivalu – 3 tries, 2 line breaks, 210 metres
Tui Kamikamica – 137 metres, 31 tackles
Nelson Asofa-Solomona – 156 metres, 21 tackles
Young Tonumaipea – 1 try, 1 line break, 188m
Justin Olam – 3 tries, 2 line breaks, 211 metres
Results:
Fiji 38 def Italy 10
New Zealand 22 def by Tonga 28
Samoa 14 drew with Scotland 14
Australia 34 def Lebanon 0
USA 0 def by Papua New Guinea 64
Ireland 34 def Wales 6
France 6 def by England 36
