Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Fijian rugby league has been given a massive boost by their team's qualification for the semi-finals of the World Cup with a 30-14 win over Ireland last night on the Gold Coast.

Fiji face the daunting prospect of taking on the world champion Australians in Sydney on Sunday, but for the moment they're revelling in their greatest achievement since receiving full international status in 1995, and the prize for losing semi-finalists at the World Cup is 300-thousand dollars.

There was plenty of kudos for Ireland last night as they held Fiji to 12-10 at halftime. The Wolfhounds have successfully pressured league's world body into including them in a northern hemisphere tournament next year also boasting Australia, New Zealand and England.