CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — Wales lost a record-equaling 10th consecutive rugby test when it was defeated at home for the first time by Fiji 24-19 on Sunday.
Fiji overcame a 14-3 deficit and red and yellow cards to top Wales in Cardiff for the first time in nine attempts dating to 1985.
Flyhalf Caleb Muntz kicked Fiji in front for the first time in the 49th minute and a powerful try by inside center Josua Tuisova gave Fiji breathing room on the scoreboard.
Wales rallied late within two points but Muntz's fourth penalty in the 76th put the pressure back on Wales, which made one last surge until hopes died in a knock-on in front of the Fiji try-line.
Wales' losing streak matches its worst sequence from 2002-03, and dates to the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals in France 13 months ago. The Welsh are in jeopardy of going through 2024 without a win. Its last two matches host Australia next weekend then world champion South Africa.
“Frustrated really," Wales coach Warren Gatland said. “We tried to be positive and we showed glimpses of that. We could have been 20 points up. We were guilty of some things. Pretty unlucky on some calls against us. We're frustrated as we targeted this one to win.”
Gatland wasn't worried about his position.
"I believe that since the World Cup, with the players we've lost, we've invested in the youngsters and we've seen development,” he said. “We need patience and time.”
Fiji's only previous win over Wales was in 2007. None of this squad tasted that and they were heartbroken by a near-miss against Wales in Bordeaux last year at the World Cup.
They were thumped by Scotland 57-17 last weekend but were crucially bolstered this week by six Europe-based stars, and Muntz and scrumhalf Frank Lomani managed their game brilliantly. Muntz Houdini-ed a try, kicked smartly, and was five from six off the tee.
“(Scotland) inflicted some real wounds,” Muntz said. "We knew we had never won here (in Cardiff) and, after the loss at the World Cup last year, this win means a lot to everyone.
“We did the same again with the (red and yellow) cards. But we trusted in our defense and knew that if we kept the ball in attack, we could open some chinks in the armor and score points.”
Wales should have been up 21-3 in the first quarter.
Slick hands, especially Ben Thomas', produced a try on debut for wing Blair Murray, and the lineout maul earned a penalty try. In between, Cam Winnett's first try for Wales was scratched off after flanker Tommy Reffell was caught dangerously clearing out Fiji wing Semi Radradra.
Reffell was yellow-carded. Also, Gatland's decision for a 6-2 bench was exposed when Mason Grady left with an ankle injury. He was replaced on the wing by flyhalf Sam Costelow.
The packed crowd was still buzzing under the roof, but the excitement waned as the rest of the half stuttered to video check illegal plays.
Reffell was joined in the sin-bin in quick fashion by Fiji No. 8 Elia Canakaivata, who collapsed the maul that gave Wales the penalty try, and Radradra, who tackled Winnett dangerously.
Radradra's yellow card was upgraded to a 20-minute red and the game became Wales' 14 versus Fiji's 13.
But Muntz then produced his try from nothing; stepping two defenders, and having the pace and strength to carry Winnett and Murray over the try-line. Muntz converted his try.
Wales had two-man and one-man advantages for the remaining 16 minutes of the half but failed to exploit them and Fiji dug in.
Right on halftime, referee Luc Ramos gave Fiji a penalty try from a lineout maul but that was scrubbed for obstruction.
Wales led only 14-10 at halftime and not for long.
The game returned to 15 on 15 with the arrival of Sireli Maqala, the French Top 14 leading try-scorer, and successive penalties kicks made it Muntz 16, Wales 14.
Fiji co-captain Waisea Nayacalevu made the break that finished with Tuisova beating Murray and Thomas to the line.
Replacement Ellis Bevan, normally a scrumhalf but slotted onto the wing, was on the field for just seconds when he dotted down in his first home game. But the potentially tying conversion was missed.
Fiji refused to be denied. A Muntz forward pass chalked off a try for rugby league convert Vuate Karawalevu, but Muntz's fourth penalty capped the scoring and an historic victory.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Wales' Ben Thomas is tackled by Fiji's Caleb Muntz during the Autumn international match rugby match between Wales and Fiji at Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Sunday Nov. 10, 2024. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Wales' Taine Plumtree is tackled by Fiji's Waisea Nayacalevu Vuidravuwalu (left) during the Autumn international match rugby match between Wales and Fiji at Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Sunday Nov. 10, 2024. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Fiji's Jiuta Wainiqolo celebrates his side's win during the Autumn international match rugby match between Wales and Fiji at Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Sunday Nov. 10, 2024. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Wales' Taine Plumtree and team-mates react after during the Autumn international match rugby match between Wales and Fiji at Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Sunday Nov. 10, 2024. (David Davies/PA via AP)
PARIS (AP) — For weeks, Marine Le Pen has thrown all her energy into fighting what she calls unfair accusations that her party embezzled European Parliament funds. France’s leading far-right figure is now facing a crucial moment in a high-profile trial where her eligibility to run for president in 2027 is at stake.
Le Pen is anticipating a guilty verdict, as prosecutors wrap up their case Wednesday and lay out their proposed sentence. The trial is scheduled to finish Nov. 27, with a verdict at a later date.
The National Rally and 25 of its officials, including Le Pen, are accused of having used money intended for EU parliamentary aides instead to pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s regulations. The National Rally was called the National Front at the time.
As she was heading to the Paris courtroom last week, Le Pen wished Donald Trump “every success” in a message on X. The French far-right leader, who has vowed to run for president for the fourth time in 2027, may have in mind that Trump’s felony conviction earlier this year didn’t divert his path away from the White House.
From the outset of the long and complex trial, Le Pen has been a forceful presence, sitting in the front row, staying for long hours into the night and expressing her irritation at allegations she says are wrong.
A lawyer by training, she follows the proceedings with extreme attention, sometimes puffing her cheeks, making her disagreement known with forceful nods of the head and striding over to consult with her lawyers, her heels loudly clicking on the courtroom’s hard wooden floors.
If found guilty, Le Pen and her co-defendants could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to 1 million euros ($1.1 million) each. But in recent days, Le Pen's biggest concern focused on the court's ability to impose a period of ineligibility to run for office. A similar case involving a French centrist party ended up with fines and suspended prison sentences earlier this year.
She could be seen discussing with her lawyers the legal complexities of such a scenario that could hamper, or even destroy, her goal to mount another presidential bid. Le Pen was runner-up to President Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, and her party's electoral support has grown in recent years.
Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Le Pen appeared to prepare the ground for a possible conviction with comments about a guilty verdict she described as foreseeable – yet she said there was no question of renouncing or lowering her political ambitions.
“I feel we didn’t succeed in convincing you,” Le Pen told the panel of three judges last week, as she detailed her arguments in a one-hour-and-a-half speech punctuated with political remarks seemingly meant to be heard by the many journalists in the courtroom.
Le Pen denied accusations she had been at the head of “a system” meant to siphon off EU parliament money to the benefit of her party, which she led from 2011 to 2021.
She instead argued the missions of the aides were to be adapted to the MEPs’ various activities, including some highly political missions related to the party.
Parliamentary aide “is a status,” she said. “It says nothing about the job, nothing about the work required, from the secretary to the speechwriter, from the lawyer to the graphic designer, from the bodyguard to the MEP's office employee.”
Le Pen’s co-defendants — most of whom owe her their political or professional career — testified under her close watch.
Some of the aides provided embarrassed and confused explanations, faced with the lack of evidence their work was in relation with the EU parliament.
Often, they could hear her bringing precisions or rectifications even when it wasn’t her turn to address the court. Sometimes, she would punctuate a point they made with a loud “voilà” (“that’s it”).
Le Pen insisted the party “never had the slightest remonstrance from the Parliament" until a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European body, to French authorities about possible fraudulent use of EU funds by members of the National Front.
“Let’s go back in time. The rules either didn’t exist or were much more flexible,” she said.
Le Pen feared the court would draw wrong conclusions from the party’s ordinary practices she said were legitimate.
“It’s unfair,” she repeated. “When one is convinced that tomato means cocaine, the whole grocery list becomes suspicious!"
The president of the court, Bénédicte de Perthuis, said no matter what political issues may be at stake, the court was to stick to a legal reasoning.
“In the end, the only question that matters ... is to determine, based on the body of evidence, whether parliamentary aides worked for the MEP they were attached to or for the National Rally,” de Perthuis said.
Patrick Maisonneuve, lawyer for the European Parliament, said the cost of the suspected embezzlement is estimated to 4,5 million euros. “In the past few weeks, it has appeared very clearly that the fraud is, I think, largely established,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
Maisonneuve said some of the defendants seemed to have instructions “to give the same collective answers, as good soldiers, for the party and to save the boss.”
In her last hearing before prosecutors speak Wednesday, Le Pen called on the judges to see “evidence of (her) innocence.”
“The court can write that we’re messy, sometimes disorganized... It’s not a crime,” she said.
AP journalists John Leicester, Marine Lesprit and Alexander Turnbull contributed to this report.
FILE- French far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at the courtroom for the trial over the suspected embezzlement of European Parliament funds, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
FILE - French far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at the courtroom for the trial over the suspected embezzlement of European Parliament funds, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
FILE - French far-right leader Marine Le Pen answers reporters at the Elysee Palace after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Aug. 26, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla, File)
