The Tailevu rugby side suffered a 13-19 defeat at the hands of Namosi in the first round of Skipper provincial Cup at Nakelo District today.

With both sides playing out evenly in the first half, it was Tailevu that looked the better side of the two banking on their home ground advantage.

Tailevu drew first blood with an impressive intercept from winger Viliame Kanatabua from the half metre mark to put them first on the scoreboard.

With the successful conversion from Maika Baleinaloto, the host led 7-nil.

Namosi managed to pull one back through Seru Cakobau to put them back into the game, as both teams were tied at 7-all.

Cakobau’s glory was short lived, after copping a yellow card just minutes after.

This gave Tailevu the leverage to take an early lead, with Balenaloto successfully converting the penalty kick and give them a 10-7 lead.

Namosi got their heads back in the game, testing the Tailevu defense, and with some clever play and impressive quick passes, Meli Nakarawa was able to cross over into the tryline to put them back into a 12-10 lead just before halftime.

Riddled with injuries, Tailevu maintained composure and discipline, and were rewarded with a penalty kick, after Namosi were penalized for a high tackle

Trailing 13-10, Namosi put their experienced forwards to good use with a scrum 5 metre from the tryline, to push through the Tailevu defense to give Eparama Luvata a chance to score a try.

The conversion from Netava Koroisau sealed the win for Namosi, with 10 minutes remaining, Tailevu did everything in their power to score a try but they failed to maintain possession, as the visitors walked away with a 19-13 victory.

In the development match: Namosi defeated Tailevu 26-20.