We need game time
PHEW! What a blinder that was! When giant winger Josua Tuisova bulldozed his way through the Welsh defence to score our first try on Wednesday night, he would have raised the roof of many homes in Fiji.
He lived up to expectations and pricked the imagination of screaming fans.
His massive legs pumping, the tough France-based winger maintained perfect balance, and was strong under pressure to power through for the touchdown on the three-minute mark. We succumbed 17-29, but the match was the stuff of dreams. Who would have ever written that in the script?
Leave aside that there was always going to be a strong Fiji showing, Tuisova never got the memo that he wasn’t supposed to score that early.
That set the ball rolling and the Flying Fijians rocked over for the second try just minutes later, to fullback Kini Murimurivalu, both coming in the opening eight minutes of the game.
Then a late call by the TMO saw lock forward Tevita Cavubati get a yellow card and a stint in the naughty chair. It turned the tide of the game and the Six Nations champions clawed their way back to lead 14-10 at halftime. However, it wasn’t difficult to get away from the fact that the Flying Fijians have truly improved, in leaps and bounds in some areas. Australian rugby legend and former Wallabies skipper George Gregan was impressed by the turnaround. The former Test halfback was at Oita Stadium for the Fiji-Wales match on Wednesday night.
“I can say Fiji was outstanding particularly in that first half,” Gregan said.
“What I enjoyed was how they made inroads in counterattack and their ball movement was fantastic.”
It was a game of contrasts. Wales, he said, tried to slow the ball down while Fiji wanted to keep the ball flowing.
“It was a fantastic Test match and Fiji was a score or two away from making it an even tighter game,” Gregan said.
He should know, having played against the Flying Fijians at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in Montpellier, France. He praised the Flying Fijians’ set pieces.
“They have really improved. Their lineouts were outstanding, their scrum was very good and they created a very good platform.”
The accolades coming from such a man deserve attention. They tell us about the changes, some subtle, that our side has gone through over the past four years.
When we factor in our lack of top international game time together as a unit, coupled with the issue of our players playing in different competitions in different countries around the world, it becomes an amazing experience just trying to get a workable combination playing together as a unit and stringing together a series of Tests. So where to from here?
The challenge now is on the governing Fiji Rugby Union to give our players the exposure they need, playing together against top quality international sides, regularly.
Our scrum has settled into a very powerful shape, our lineouts have taken on a touch of class and there is frightening accuracy in movement and shape, and our penalty try in the second half of the game against the Welsh showed we have come of age in the battle in the trenches. We haven’t even started on our explosive form in the back line.
There has always been flair in our arsenal. We pack pace to burn out wide, there is class right across the back line. We are now embracing an era when our pack is shaping up well enough to counter the best eight in the world.
It is frightening just thinking about what the Flying Fijians are capable of doing when we are able to effectively combine these important facets of the game with regular internationals against Tier 1 nations.
Our RWC has ended. There will be mixed emotions. Some fans will be angry, some frustrated, and some happy with our performance. At this moment in time, our team needs more Tier 1 opposition to continue its transition.
We acknowledge the Flying Fijians for their effort, and look forward with optimism, to a future that can only be good for our game.