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A frightening Fiji XV that could cause serious damage at RWC2019
When it comes to the rugby public’s perception of Fiji – cliché is not in short supply.
Many casual fans prefer lazy conclusions about Tier 2 teams, and attitudes to Fiji are no different. Perennially tagged as talented but ultimately unreliable, the stereotype is of a team that plays entertaining rugby but – other than the odd shock result – will generally succumb to the structured, pressure game of Tier 1 sides.
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Those clichés began to unravel at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Fiji had the best scrum in the tournament with England, Wales and Australia all suffering at their hands, suggesting that a Fijian side with a strong set piece is not only possible but now has precedent.
More recently in the 2017 November Tests, Fiji came the closest of any southern hemisphere side to beating Ireland, with a smaller margin of defeat than South Africa and Argentina.
That side’s backline also showcased the unique physical arsenal that Fiji can call upon – boasting an average weight of 111kg among their outside backs. That’s a figure some 15kg heavier than the average international backline player.
With RWC 2019 on the horizon, Fiji have near perfect storm of attacking talent at their disposal, and given enough time together and something approaching a level footing on resources, they are a team that have the potential to go far. Australia, Wales, Georgia and Canada be warned.
1 Campese Ma’afu
The Northampton Saints prop proved in 2015 that he and tighthead partner Saulo are more than a match for Tier 1 nations as scrummagers. When so many players that can carry, Fijian props can be left to the job of scrummaging.
2 Talemaitoga Tuapati
While he plays his rugby in the French lower divisions, Tuapati is a strong hooker who has represented Stade Francais and Southland in the Mitre 10.
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3 Manasa Saulo
As with Ma’afu, the London Irish prop is one of Fijian rugby ‘war horses’ and as alluded to two paragraphs ago, was part of the pack that humbled their Tier 1 rivals at the set piece in 2015.
4 Tevita Cavubati
Brother of the giant Bill Cavubati (capped 27 times for Fiji), Tevita (6’6, 120kg) made his professional breakthrough with Tasman Makos in New Zealand’s ITM Cup, having previously been with Taranaki and Welsh Pro 12 side, Ospreys, before signing for the Newcastle Falcons in 2017.
5 Leone Nakawara
RugbyPass argued that Leone Nakawara was the best player in the world in 2017, based off the fact that no other secondrow on the planet can do what he does. A huge player is every sense of the word and as dynamic a front five forward as you’ll find.
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6 Peceli Yato
One of the best ball carrying loose forwards in Europe, the 6’5, 105kg Yato has been wreaking havoc for Clermont in recent seasons, and is outstanding at lock (where he has played for Fiji) or in the backrow.
7 Levani Botia
One of the hardest players on the planet to tackle one-on-one, La Rochelle moved him to openside but he played at 12 for Fiji in November. Whichever position he plays, a nightmare to defend against.
8 Viliame Mata
While the incumbent No.8 Nemani Nagusa brings a high level of athleticism to the base of Fiji’s scrum, the 6’5, 116kg Mata has been in fine form for Edinburgh and would potentially bring more size to the pack while not sacrificing on dynamism.
9 Niko Matawalu
A favourite at the Glasgow Warriors, Matawalu spent two unsatisfying years at Bath and Exeter Chiefs before returning north where his talents weren’t squandered.
10 Josh Matavesi
Ben Volavola has done little wrong but Matavesi’s playmaking skillset, powerful carrying and experience in the Pro14 and Premiership just can’t be ignored. A criminally underrated player who the Ospreys for one have missed desperately in their midfield this season.
11 Nemani Nadolo
What is left to be said about the 6’4, 137kg juggernaut? On his day he is unplayable, and in recent years has become the most prolific player in European rugby and is probably the most formidable attacking player on the planet.
12 Jale Vatabua
The 6’2, 112kg Vatabua is the cornerstone of Pau’s midfield, and hasn’t looked out of place with two All Blacks – Colin Slade and Conrad Smith – on either side of him. Big hits and big runs, he does it all.
13 Semi Radradra
It might be too much to hope that Semi is available for Fiji come the World Cup. Having returned to Union with Toulon he has very quickly caught up, and while he’s still learning on the job, the former NRL superstar has the potential to be devastating.
14 Josua Tuisova
Another ridiculously powerful human being, Tuisova is vying with the aforementioned Botia as the player you would least like to meet in a one-on-one. Can be prone to concentration lapses but the tank-like wing is so hard to stop that entire defensive strategies have to be organised when you play against him.
15 Jarryd Hayne
It does a huge disservice to excellent La Rochelle fullback Kini Murimurivalu, but if you will join us a little leap of imagination, the idea of Hayne playing at a rugby union World Cup is just too hard a selection to pass up. His highly dissected but ultimately successive stint in the NFL showed he can cross to a code far more alien than union. There was talk of a switch to the Waratahs after his unsuccessful Olympic Sevens bid, which it proves it might not be that fanciful an idea. The danger is of course that Hayne could become the Fijian Sam Burgess, but wouldn’t it be worth it just for the hype alone?
Comments on RugbyPass
Jake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
13 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
1 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
13 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
13 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
39 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to comments