Fiji brought their signature flair and panache to the party as they made their long-awaited Autumn Nations Cup bow, running in six tries to defeat Georgia 38-24 at BT Murrayfield.
An outbreak of Covid-19 in the squad meant the Pacific Islanders’ Group B games against France, Italy and Scotland were all cancelled as they were forced to watch from the sidelines.
But Vern Cotter’s men made up for lost time in style in their 7th/8th place play-off with the Lelos on Saturday, with Nemani Nadolo crossing for their opening try in the first minute.
John Dyer added a second score just five minutes later before Georgia responded with a penalty from Tedo Abzhandadze, which was soon cancelled out by Josua Tuisova’s excellent score.
A try from Giorgi Melikidze cut the gap to 19-10 at the break but Fiji reasserted their dominance following the restart when Mesulame Kunavula crossed for a try on his debut.
Nadolo completed his hat-trick with two tries in four minutes, including a fabulous finish to Ben Volavola’s grubber kick, but Georgia refused to back down and finished on a high.
Beka Saghinadze bagged a late brace in the final 15 minutes, with Abzhandadze adding two conversions, but it was not enough to deny Fiji clinching seventh place with a flourish.
