OSAKA, Japan (AP) — Fiji overwhelmed Japan from a 10-10 halftime deadlock to win an energetic Pacific Nations Cup final 41-17 at Hanazono Stadium on Saturday.
Fiji wore down the fast-starting Japanese with weight and speed and with impact off the bench, scoring five tries — two more were disallowed — for a record-extending sixth PNC title, and first since 2018.
The defense was also special. For the only time in five PNC matches, Fiji conceded points in a second half, less than three minutes from fulltime, to wing Malo Tuitama who scored Japan's second try.
“We just had to stay in there, work really hard to set ourselves up in the second half by maintaining really good pressure in that first half,” first-year Fiji coach Mick Byrne said.
After early penalty kicks, Japan center Dylan Riley scored a brilliant solo try by cutting inside three defenders and collecting his own chip.
Counterpart Inia Tabuavou then had a try chalked off by a knock-on in the buildup, but Fiji eventually tied the score against the run of play when Harumichi Tatekawa's grubber kick rebounded off Eroni Mawi, Tabuavou hacked ahead, and wing Vuate Karawalevu won the race to the ball.
Fiji started the new half with a man advantage while Japan hooker Mamoru Harada was sin-binned. Standout flyhalf Caleb Muntz had a try disallowed because of obstruction but his 56th- minute penalty gave Fiji the lead for the first time.
The Fijian pack was on a roll and Japan was struggling to contain it. With defenders dragged in by Fiji's pick and goes, there was space out wide and Fiji used it.
Replacement and Olympic sevens silver medallist Ponepati Loganimasi finished a try on his test debut then Tabuavou was tackled into touch in the right by Tuitama. But a minute later, Fiji was in again through replacement forward Albert Tuisue.
Fiji crossed twice more in the next eight minutes, Loganimasi's offload released Karawalevu for his second try, then Loganimasi broke from a midfield ruck and stepped the last defender for try number two.
Muntz, the player of the tournament, kicked six from six and let Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula convert their last try.
Tuitama gave Japan some consolation with the last converted try but the hosts lost to Fiji for the sixth time in their last seven contests.
For third place, Samoa beat the United States 18-13 with a 77th-minute try by Melani Nanai.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Fijian players celebrate scoring a try against Japan during the second half of the final at Pacific Nations Cup rugby match in Higashi Osaka city, Osaka prefecture, western Japan, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.(Kyodo News via AP)
U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.
Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.
Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran cross checking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
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China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”
He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”
Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”
He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.
Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.
“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.
However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”
The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.
The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.
Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.
“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.
Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.
Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.
A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.
The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.
Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
