Late penalty from Qoro seals unbeaten Fijiana WXV campaign in HK

Fiji's national women's rugby team has finished the WXV Global Series Challenger tournament unbeaten after a late penalty saw them defeat the Netherlands 20-17 on Saturday.

The Fijiana had earlier raced out to a 12-nil lead in the first 13 minutes before the Dutch equalised early in the second half in a thrilling decider in Hong Kong China.

The Netherlands then took the lead just short of the hour mark before Fiji hit back again.

A late Varanisese Qoro penalty got the Fijians across the line.

According to World Rugby, both sides went "toe-to-toe for 80 minutes", but Qoro's penalty was the difference between the two equally matched outfits.

Fiji defeated Spain (38-32) and Hong Kong China (54-26) in their first two matches in the campaign.

Meanwhile, Samoa's Manusina ended their WXV Global Series Challenger campaign on a high, beating Hong Kong China 34-17.

Both kick-offs had been delayed due to heat, and the third match of the day, between Spain and Brazil, was cancelled.

This story was first published in RNZ Pacific.