Fiji 38–12 Russia — Group A, 2000 Rugby League World Cup
29 Oct 2000 · Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness, England · Attendance: 2,187
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Group A, 2000 Rugby League World Cup: Fiji 38–12 Russia, at Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness, England on 29 Oct 2000.
Scorers
| Fiji | Tries: Vunivalu (3); Tuqiri (2); Kuraduadua; Sovatabua Goals: Tuqiri (5) |
| Russia | Tries: Ilyasov; Rullis Goals: Jiltsov/Mitrofanov (2 combined) — exact individual split not identified in sources found |
Teams
| Fiji | Russia | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lote Tuqiri (c) | Fullback | Robert Ilyasov | 1 |
| 2 | Jone Kuraduadua | Wing | Mikhail Mitrofanov | 2 |
| 3 | Waisale Sovatabua | Centre | Matthew Donovan | 3 |
| 4 | Eparama Navale | Centre | Craig Cygler | 4 |
| 5 | Farasiko Tokarei | Wing | Maxim Romanov | 5 |
| 6 | Semi Tadulala | Stand off/Five eighth | Andrei Olari | 6 |
| 7 | Stephen Smith | Scrum half/Half back | Igor Gavrilin | 7 |
| 8 | Kalaveti Naisoro Tuiyabayaba | Prop forward | Ian Rubin (c) | 8 |
| 9 | Tabua Cakacaka | Hooker | Aleksandr Lysenkov | 9 |
| 10 | Freddie Robarts | Prop forward | Robert Campbell | 10 |
| 11 | Etuate Vakatawa | Second row | Petr Sokolov | 11 |
| 12 | Joe Tamani | Second row | Aaron Findlay | 12 |
| 13 | Samuela Marayawa | Loose forward/Lock forward | Joel Rullis | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Atunasia Vunivalu | Pavel Kalachkine | 14 | |
| 15 | Josefa Lasagavibau | Viktor Nechaev | 15 | |
| 16 | Amani Takayawa | Igor Jiltsov | 16 | |
| 17 | Peceli Vuniyayawa | Vadim Postnikov | 17 | |
| Don Furner | Coach | Eugene Klebanov | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Russell Smith (Castleford) |
| Touch judges | Not identified in sources found |
| Player of the match | Not identified in sources found |
Match report
Fiji opened their World Cup campaign with a 38-12 win over debutants Russia at Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness, leading 16-6 at half-time before scoring five second-half tries to pull clear. Interchange forward Atunasia Vunivalu came off the bench to score a hat-trick, with fullback Lote Tuqiri among the scorers and adding five goals.