Fiji reap the benefits of early RWC qualification
Brendan Gallagher rounds up the recent international action that has seen early qualifiers for RWC2019
Away from the excitement of the Lions tour to New Zealand and England’s vibrant mini Test series with Argentina, Fiji would seem to be among those who have benefitted most from a busy summer of rugby.
Fijian rugby often loses impetus mid-cycle between World Cups with their bigger names looking to placate their clubs by taking time out, but this summer coach John McKee managed to gather a near full strength squad for what was one of their more demanding recent fixture lists.
After reintroducing themselves in a tough opener against Australia in Brisbane, the Fijians reeled off home wins against Italy and Scotland before travelling to Tonga where they claimed a hard fought 14-10 win the Pacific Nations Championship.
That victory in Nuku’alofa saw Fiji qualify for RWC2019 and climb back up to tenth in the world rankings which is a much truer representation of their current standing in the game. It also contained an absolute cracker of a try from the remarkable Leone Nakarawa which, even in a summer of exceptional Test tries, is right up the among the best.
In World Cup terms, Fiji can be excused a little déjà vu as they will now lock horns again with Wales and Australia – who they tangled with at RWC2015 in the infamous Pool of Death which also included England. Georgia will be new opponents – and what a fascinating contrast in styles that will bring – while Pool D will be completed by whoever emerges as the America 2 qualifier. That will be either Canada or Uruguay and of course Fiji also played Los Toros at RWC2015. It could be quite a reunion in Japan.
The Fijians will have benefitted Mastermind: coach John McKee enormously from their full on summer of rugby. It started in Melbourne where they understandably looked very rusty against the Wallabies who outscored the Islanders five tries to two in their 37-14 win. Two of those Aussie tries came from Henry Speight, one of the many Fijian wings representing another nation which rather rubbed salt into the wounds, but there were promising moments for Fiji and two good tries from star men Vereniki Gonova and Timoci Nagusa.
The following week back at the ANZ Stadium in sultry Suva, Fiji encountered sterner opposition than perhaps anticipated against an Italy side that refused to wilt in the heat. Tries from new centres Eroni Vasiteri and Jale Vatubua and a third from the ever reliable Gonova saw Fiji squeeze home 22-19, along with a nicely taken dropgoal by Ben Volavola at the death.
It was a close call but the perfect work out against European opposition ahead of their showpiece game of the season the following week against Gregor Townsend’s Scotland, who arrived in Fiji fresh from a famous 24-19 win over Australia.
In damp conditions both sides still opted for an open approach and the Scots ultimately outscored Fiji three tries to two but Volavola, who plays for the Melbourne Rebels these days, hinted at developing into a high percentage Test goal kicker with five penalties and a conversion as Fiji won 27-22.
The second Fijian try, by replacement scrum-half Henry Seniloli was down mainly to a moment of brilliance from Nakarawa – well known to all Scots from his time with Glasgow Warriors – and the big man was at it again the following week when Fiji travelled to the newly refurbished national ground at Nuku’alofa to take on Tonga. Win and that World Cup place was theirs without any further complications.
It wasn’t easy, Tonga themselves have shown considerable improvement since RWC2015 and buoyed by an impressive win over Samoa the previous week in their first home game in light years, they piled into Fiji in a tense and highly physical encounter.
For much of the time it was the antithesis of what you would expect from two Pacific Islands but then in the 62nd minute, with Tonga leading 10-3, the game exploded into life with a try from the gods which involved most of Fiji’s standouts.
Volavola fielded a box kick close to the touchline just outside his 22 and threw a long ball infield to Nagusa, who blitzed his way upfield before passing onto Nakarawa. The Fijian superstar then produced a soft handed nonchalant no-look pass straight from a game of touch rugby on the beach to Highlanders wing Patrick Osborne, who drew the remaining defence before lobbing a basketball style one handed pass back infield to Nakarawa to score. Sublime stuff. Volavola missed the conversion but added two late penalties to book that place in Japan.
“The challenge we always face is the availability of our overseas players and making sure we have access to them in the next two years as we build towards the World Cup,” says McKee. “Keeping the core group of players together is really important. During the 2015 World Cup, we only had a few months to prepare whereas at least this time we have got two years to build.
“There will be talks with some countries in Europe regarding the players and we need to make sure they are readily available when we need them. Now the PNC is over we will be putting some detailed plans in place for the next two years with hopefully as much top class opposition as possible. Qualifying for the RWC is only part of the puzzle, actually preparing and making sure you get everything right is the other part and one that needs to be planned out thoroughly.”
Fiji continued their excellent progree with a 38-6 victory over Samoa in the Pacific Nations Cup yesterday morning which handed Tonga the remaining World Cup spot.
Samoa needed to at least draw with the unbeaten Fijians to overhaul Tonga and reach the tournament in Japan. Even a bonus point in defeat might have been enough.
They led 16-14 at half time in Apia but had no answers as Fiji over-ran them in the second half. Fiji scored five tries in total, including a hat-trick by scrumhalf Henry Seniloli. Samoa can still reach the World Cup through the repechage qualification series.
Meanwhile the USA, with rather more ease that at one time looked likely, clinched the America 1 qualifying spot for the first time in their history with a crushing win over Canada to book their place in the Pool of Death alongside England, France, Argentina and Tonga. It’s an awesome challenge but at least like Fiji the Eagles have two full years to prepare rather than having to qualify via the scenic route.
The Eagles, as is always the case when Argentina qualify automatically by virtue of their performance in the previous World Cup Finals, faced a straight forward two-legged play-off with Canada for the other automatic sport from the Americas. It seemed like all to play for after a 28-28 draw at Hamilton, Ontario in the first leg and 19-16 to the Eagles midway through the second half the following week in San Diego – but the Eagles then suddenly took flight to score 33 unanswered points to rout their old rivals 52-16. It
was Canada’s heaviest ever defeat in the fixture… and on Canada Day and that nation’s 150th anniversary as well.
The Eagles scored eight tries to one with Cardiff Blues No.8 Cam Dolan leading the way with a brace while Worcester Warriors hooker Joe Taufete was another forward to score twice. But it was veteran flanker Todd Clever who got the plaudits after the game having announced his imminent retirement from the international game a few days earlier.
“I’m just extremely proud to be an American Eagle and it’s great that we managed to qualify in front of our home crowd in my last Test,” said Clever afterwards. “We did what we came here to do and I’m so proud to be part of this great day. Japan is like my third or fourth home so I’ll definitely be at the Rugby World Cup in 2019 but I’ll be in the crowd cheering them on, not on the pitch. I’ll be the biggest fan. I’m going to have some more family time, spend time with my daughter and get out on the ocean more and take a breather.” Canada now face a two-legged playoff with Uruguay to clinch the final place from the Americas which, with both teams seemingly well matched, could be a close encounter. The winners of that will go straight into Pool D. Before the game, a moment’s silence was observed for former Canada coach Ric Suggitt, who passed away suddenly during the week. During a long career Suggitt coached the Canada men’s and women’s teams as well as the men’s Sevens. He also coached the USA women’s Sevens for several years and was one of the bestknown rugby characters in North America.