Fiji drew motivation from watching Nigeria’s upset defeat of Ireland and after ensuring they didn’t suffer the same fate against Canada will now prepare to meet the Green Falcons for a place in IRL Rugby League World Cup 2026.

The Bulikula stormed home to defeat the Ravens 48-0 in the second semi-final of the IRL Women’s World Series 2025 at Terry Fox Stadium in Brampton, Ontario and will play Nigeria in the the final of the tournament on Sunday, October 26.

The winner will claim the eighth and final women’s berth at next year’s World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea and Fiji coach Joe Dakuitoga said his side are determined to ensure their trip to Canada yields success.

“We have prepared well because we need that spot in the World Cup,” Dakuitoga said. “We saw the first upset of the day, when Nigeria beat Ireland. We meet Nigeria in the final so may the best team win and qualify for the World Cup next year.”

The Bulikula were made to work hard by an equally determined Canadian side in the first half and it took 17 minutes before Canberra Raiders back Isabella Waterman crossed for the first try. Wingers Tahlia Marshall and Maria Paseka crossed soon after but the Ravens held on to trail 12-0 at halftime.

Paseka, who plays for St George Illawarra Dragons, finished with a hat-trick, while Waterman and Marshall, a Queensland Cup premiership winner with Brisbane Tigers, each scored two tries.

Captain Cass Staples, from Cronulla Sharks, Kelilani Manu and Sienna Laing were the other tryscorers.

“Everyone wants to play in the World Cup so Canada was prepared to give us a hard game and they gave us a hard game tonight,” Dakuitoga said.

“Fortunately, we managed to come through in the first game and we are looking forward to the next game against Nigeria.

“For us we will just go back to process to see the weaknesses we had today and try to improve on that. We will work on our structure and prepare ourselves against Nigeria.”

Both coaches agreed the scoreline didn’t reflect the competitiveness of the game, with Fiji piling on 22 points in the last 10 minutes.

“The result probably doesn’t reflect how hard we played. It was a massive testament to our team and a massive testament to how good Fiji are, so well done to their staff,” Ravens coach Matt Baron said.

“That was probably the best performance Canada has put in for a long time and it shows where we are going and it shows the level of rugby league we can play. I am really proud of the team.”

Canada will now meet Ireland on Sunday in a third-place play-off, which also counts for IRL World Rankings points.

Photo credit: Colin Watson