Cotter sees it as more than a rugby match
FLYING Fijians coach Vern Cotter is talking positive and hoping big at Forsyth Barr stadium in Dunedin for this Saturday’s first test against the New Zealand All Blacks.
Fijian rugby fans should give him all the support he needs and in their prayers as he sees it more than just a rugby game.
So far he has fitted in well in the Flying
Fijian transition from his predecessor John Mckee into a new era of Fijian rugby.
He has has taken over the helm to continue a winning run by the Flying Fijian team against the most immense odds.
If we disregard the cancelled matches against Scotland, Italy and France in the Autumn Nations Cup in 2020, because of COVID-19, Fiji has had a 100 per cent winning record in 3 years.
So far the new Flying Fijian batch has proven its ability to overcome the odds under Mckee coaching a bunch of novices to international rugby, in 2019 to beat the Barbarians 33-31 at Twickenham, London.
It was his swansong as Fiji coach and the Rugby World Cup players who played in Japan were not available. He had to quickly organise a makeshift team, made up of second-string and developing players, selected locally and from New Zealand and overseas clubs.
On the other hand the Barbarians had the bulk of the RWC champs South Africa plus other nations RWC heroes.
The Barbarians had match-fitness while our players were plucked from their clubs.
They displayed awesome running rugby to suit the occasion.
In 2020 Autumn Nations Cup Cotter took over, they were quarantined and kept locked up most of the time.
Scotland, Italy and France all won by default and the only match they played was against Georgia.
The Georgians did quite well holding France, Italy and Scotland and were confident after having given the Fijians some hard and anxious moments in the RWC pool games.
But they succumbed to an energetic Flying Fijians team and a late Georgian surge only gave the 38-24 score win by Fiji some respectability.
Now against New Zealand Cotter and his men are facing more disadvantages.
He has not been able to get the players he wanted and the ones available were locked up another 14 days in quarantine.
Former All Blacks great Sir John Kirwan, two weeks ago predicted another big win for New Zealand against Fiji, in view of the odds stacked against us.
But Cotter keeps talking positive and he believes the indoor conditions will suit Fiji’s open running rugby style.
To do that we will have to win more than our share of balls and keep up with the pace of the explosive-running Kiwis.
He has a few aces up his sleeve and judging from his comments he hopes to take a leaf out of the England RWC coach, Eddie Jones’, coaching manual and drive a wedge
into the heart of the NZ tight-five combination.
The locking pair of Frank Tuipolotu and Brodie Retallick has yet to go through the fire test and that is where Fiji’s Temo Mayanavanuwa and Leone Nakarawa will attempt to thwart the All Blacks machine.
The mobile front row led by Mesake Doge, Sam Matavesi and Peni Ravai will have their hands full.
Before England beat New Zealand in the 2019 RWC semifinals, All Black legend David Carter visited Fiji and stayed at Kokomo island Resort in Kadavu.
He took a couple days break there with his family, before returning to Japan to watch England play New Zealand.
A resort employee asked for his opinion on who was going to win.
Carter quickly replied that England would win because the Kiwi locking pair of Rettalic and Sam Whitelock were past their peak and had injury worries compared with the young, energetic bunch of England forwards led by the ubiquitous Maro Itoje.
The Flying Fijians have a combination of the players who beat the Barbarians in 2019 and Georgia in 2020 and are unlucky not to have the likes of enterprising and goalkicking Suva fullback Enele Malele and Teti Tela.
The loose forward trio of Johnnie Dyer, man mountain Mesake Seavula and tenacious number 8 Albert Tuisue will have to make their presence known in the first time tackles all over the ground. Judging from the recent performance against Tonga, the Kiwis were unstoppable with their pace and power.
Dyer scored two tries in the win against the Barbarians and on the bench are two equally capable utility forwards in Peceli Yato and Tevita Ratuva.
Halfback Simione Kuruvoli, a QVS Deans winner, could be the target of rampaging forwards. But what he lacks in size, he makes up with guts and a wide range of skills acquired from sports like judo, rugby league and AFL. He has the judo skills to ground men double his size.
On the bench as his reserve is Setariki Tuicuvu who was injured in his Test debut for Fiji at fullback in 2019.
Skipper Levani Botia is expected to lead by example from midfield with a devastating outside backs attacking trio of Waisea Nayacalevu, Nemani Nadolo and the ‘Sledgehammer’ Eroni Sau.
First-five Ben Volavola and fullback Kini Murimuruvalu are seasoned campaigners and they often come up with surprises of their own.
Cotter knows the struggle Fijians are facing back home in the battle against COVID-19. He and his men hope to give them something to cheer for on Saturday night. Go Fiji Go !!!!
Fiji team: Kini Murimurivalu, Eroni Sau, Waisea Nayacalevu, Levani Botia (c), Nemani Nadolo, Ben Volavola, Simione Kuruvoli, Albert Tuisue, Mesulame Kunavula, Johnny Dyer, Leone Nakarawa, Temo Mayanavanua, Mesake Doge, Samuel Matavesi, Peni Ravai. Reserves: Peni Narisia *, Haereiti Hetet, Leeroy Atalifo, Tevita Ratuva, Peceli Yato, Setareki Tuicuvu, Eneriko Buliruarua *, Manasa Mataele *. * denotes debutants.