Taulafo try propels Samoa past Canada and into Pacific Nations final against Fiji

Samoa’s Sakaria Taulafo dived on a loose ball for a last-minute try to give his side a 21-20 victory over Canada in their Pacific Nations Cup clash in Toronto on Wednesday (Thursday HK time), setting up a rematch against Fiji in the final.

The Fijians were lucky to escape with a 27-22 victory over Japan despite being reduced to 13 men for the final minutes of their clash, also in Toronto.

Both lock Leone Nakarawa and prop Campese Mafu were sin-binned for deliberately collapsing a strong Japanese rolling maul.

Fiji had battled back from a 9-3 deficit before they scored three quick tries before half-time, but managed to hold off a strong and controlled Japanese forward effort in the second half to set up a final against Samoa next Monday.

The two Pacific sides battled to a 30-30 draw in their clash earlier in the six-nation tournament which is providing the teams with valuable preparation for the Rugby World Cup in England and Wales in September-October.

Canada, who were up 13-3 at half-time, had been leading their clash against the ninth-ranked Samoans when James Pritchard converted a try that gave the North Americans a 20-16 lead with the clock winding down.

Samoa then drove down the field, and while they had their line-out stolen the ball came loose when two Canadians collided, with Taulafo scoring the match-clinching try.