Our journey to 2023 Rugby World Cup starts
There’s no turning back from here. The journey to the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France has begun for the Flying Fijians. Despite the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fiji Rugby Union under chief executive officer, John O’Connor, has mapped their way around it.
The November tour, for the first time, will see the Europe-based players form the national rugby team. These are players playing for their respective clubs in France, Wales, England, Scotland and Italy.
With head coach Vern Cotter and the coaching staff being flown in, they are to play hosts Spain on November 6, face Wales in Cardiff on November 14 and Georgia on November 20 with the venue yet to be decided by World Rugby.
This is the only opportunity for the Europe-based players to show what they have got if they are to impress Cotter.
The final selection for the Flying Fijians will not be easy, compared to the previous World Cups.
This is because the emergence of our local-based players, who are playing for the Fijian Drua in their Super Rugby Pacific, debut on February 18.
Also, part of the Drua franchise are our upcoming players based in New Zealand and Australia.
With them, rubbing shoulders against the best All Blacks and Wallabies players for 14 weeks and the matches played under a frantic pace, will definitely push our players to a higher level of performance.
Their chance comes in next July’s three Test matches where they are going to make-up the Flying Fijians squad.
From this onset, it will give Cotter the platform to select his best team for next year’s November tour to Europe with the Rugby World Cup for the following year.
Never has this happened before for Fiji Rugby when it comes to the World Cup.
And for us here at home, it does not end there.
With the Skipper Provincial Cup now moved to early next year, we should expect a more intense competition with the Unions coming in well-prepared and their players much, much fitter from their off season programme.
We’re renowned for the abundance of talented rugby players at our disposal and surely enough there’ll be those who are also going to shine and impress their way to the World Cup.