RWC to remember
A look back at Fiji’s journey
DESPITE our exit from the 2019 Rugby World Cup, millions of viewers will be thoroughly satisfied that Fijian rugby is entertaining and threatens that one day will be a world champion in the 15s code as they are in the 7s code.
John McKee and the Flying Fijians made a grand display of pure entertaining Fijian running rugby at the world stage as our 2019 RWC campaign has come to a close.
DESPITE our exit from the 2019 Rugby World Cup millions of viewers will be thoroughly satisfied that Fijian rugby is entertaining and threatens that one day will be a world champion in the 15s code as they are in the 7s code.
John McKee and the Flying Fijians made a grand display of pure entertaining Fijian running rugby at the world stage as our 2019 RWC campaign has come to a close.
Longtime Ratu Kadavulevu School rugby coach and Fiji Rugby sports administrator master Waisea Davuiqalita says that the stage is being set for Fiji to come up big in 2023, but one thing is definite, Fiji will win the Web Ellis Cup.
The recent displays by our rugby team against Australia and Wales, two likely winners of the 2019 RWC, shows that we are there and can lock horns with the best tier one teams in the world, but we just need some slight adjustments.
Rome was not built in a day. Pitting our rugby skills against one of the world’s best we have come out with flying colours proven by the very fact that our own superstar Semi Radradra won the Best Player Award.
No player from the winning Welsh side played better than him, World Rugby decided.
The game was a thriller and everyone was at the edge of their seat and even the vocal Welsh support had quitened when Fiji led 10-0 and were brought back from the tryline after two more sizzling tries were disallowed for forward passes.
Anxious moments for coach Warren Gatland and his fans.
The try by Josua Tuisova was a gem and will be an unforgettable piece of material to be used by future coaches and wingers on tryscoring skills.
He also broke the tension and suspense in every Fijian fan and set off wild cheering around every home in Fiji.
Two weeks ago he was instrumental in destroying the Wallabies defence before sending Peceli Yato to score in the opening match and his try against Georgia was a race around his opponent.
In France they had nicknamed him the “Dump Truck” and when in the opening minutes Fiji won a scrum on the Wales 22 with three Welsh players blocking his passage our hearts were in our mouths.
Everybody was looking forward to witness first-hand the “Dump Truck” in action and he did not disappoint as halfback Frank Lomani went on the blindside and floated a perfect pass.
A lesser man would have looked for the support of his teammates.
But not Tuisova. He saw the tryline, the corner flag and backed himself up riding on past exploits from his French experience.
There was a time to run around using speed, a time to head straight and crash onto tacklers but this was a time to play smart combining intelligence and brute force.
He surged forward and fended off the first tackler and let the other two tacklers go for his legs and waist while he kept his right hand holding the ball free.
On the way down he was aware of the touchline and in a flash of brilliance touched the ball on the scoring line before he was bundled out on the corner flag.
He immediately raised his hand when he hit the ground knowing he had scored Fiji’s first try.
Minutes later Fiji were back on attack and a cut out pass by pivot Ben Volavola saw fullback Kini Murimurivalu joining the backline.
A combination of his cadet training from Queen Victoria School and watching mongoose ducking in and out of bushes at Matavatucou all came into focus as he was tackled and grounded metres from the tryline.
Using his elbows and body he rolled, crawled his way to touch down as boots of defenders slided and sent dust and dirt into the air on the white line.
Fiji’s third try was a penalty try and should be celebrated by every rugby loving fan especially those that had felt disillusioned about Fiji’s weakness in rolling mauls from lineouts.
Against Georgia our players dismantled the powerful Georgian forwards in mauls and scrums and against Wales we handled their mauls soundly and everybody knew what to do immediately.
As if to display our newfound superiority in the mauls, the Fijian forwards drove a maul and all the Welshman could do was to collapse it. The referee gave a penalty try.
Meanwhile, the general view of local rugby thinkers were that of Fiji needing to work on mental toughness to survive the last quarter onslaught or someone to be there to take charge of those lapses in concentration.
Australia came from behind to win as well as Wales on Thursday.
They countered Fiji’s fast paced game by professional fouls to slow down the breakdowns. But against Georgia our boys were held 12-10 at half time until after half time.
Once the backline started making inroads on the flanks led by Semi Radradra there was no stopping them for that 45-10 win.
Radradra is a complete professional through and through.
His rugby league experience and the big injuries he has survived had made him the wiser and he looks after his body very well.
He was the fittest player in this RWC campaign.
The majority of the other players seem to have bloated into semi-Sumo wrestlers and this points to uncontrolled diet and asks a lot of question on the management.
A former military officer said that one of the successes of the 2007 team was their diet was controlled when they were in camp at the army camp.
He said then coach Ilivasi Tabua personally brought a scale to the dining room and weighed every player so there was no chance of cheating.
Champion 7s coach Ben Ryan had a strict diet program that played a vital role in the super performance at the Rio Olympics.
While coaches like McKee looked after the rugby future national teams should include somebody who can draw the respect of everyone including senior players as management off the ground was proven to be found wanting, reliable sources revealed.
It’s tough being a professional rugby player.
It’s not for the normal persons like us fans who don’t even sweat behind the phones and keyboards.
Apart from the daily physical fitness training demand, there are other disciplines like diet and proper rest and sleep that are to be observed especially at the Rugby World Cup.
We can only reap what we sow. But nevertherless we still congratulate our Flying Fijians for giving everything in that final match and in Radradra’s words “emptied the tanks”.