Herman backs Bulikula to challenge world’s best

Fiji Bulikula assistant coach Tony Herman is hopeful the team can reach the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals in its maiden appearance at the tournament.

The Bulikula are one step away after thrashing Papua New Guinea 40-4 in their second pool match in Port Moresby on Saturday.

“We’ve got an amazing group of girls. They worked really hard for one another and came into this campaign knowing that we had a special group.

“We thought last week we played some good footy against the number two in the world. Coming into this game, we watched a lot of footage on PNG and they were awesome last week. We knew we were in for a real battle.”

Asked at the post-match press conference whether he believed the team had the quality to progress deep into the competition, Herman said: “Yeah, we think so. I think we can challenge.

“You look at New Zealand being number two in the world and the fact we challenged them last week shows where the girls are at, shows that their footy is standing up under really pressure moments and that leads to going deep into the tournament. Look, we need to win next week. It’s a big game for us.

“To qualify for a semi-final and then hopefully go further would be an amazing moment for Fiji Bulikula and we’re all just excited to be part of it.”

Although Papua New Guinea’s defence was tight in the second half, Herman was proud of how the Bulikula stood up to the challenge.

“I thought particularly in that first half, they played some great footy against a good footy side. They continued to ask questions of us. They were very physical in defence.

“We had a lot of bumps and bruises in that. It was just a great spectacle, I thought, for women’s rugby league from both teams. I know the scoreboard probably looks a little bit lopsided but it doesn’t reflect the game.”

The Bulikula will face France in their final pool match on Saturday. France lost 92-0 to New Zealand yesterday.