'What we've got to realise is that this isn't a walk-over league'
Josh Matavesi has turned down the opportunity to put his feet up for a couple of weeks, throwing his hat straight into the ring for Newcastle Falcons’ home game against Hartpury on Friday night.
The centre has spent most of the last four months on international duty with Fiji, firstly competing in the Pacific Nations Cup and then the Rugby World Cup in Japan. And despite having only just returned from the international showpiece last weekend, the Cornishman has wasted no time in putting himself forward for selection for the Falcons’ first home assignment of the Greene King IPA Championship campaign.
“Being out in Japan was an amazing experience and exceeded all my expectations,” said the 29-year-old, who took his international cap tally up to 23 after appearing against Uruguay and Georgia in World Cup pool play before calling time in his Fiji career.
“Japan is a wonderful country, the people are awesome and the only disappointment as a Fijian group is that we didn’t progress through the pool stage.
“The teams we were up against really brought their A-games, there was a little bit of complacency from us against Uruguay and ultimately it cost us. Overall it was a great experience to be part of an event like that, but on the same note I’m also happy to be back at Newcastle Falcons.”
Fiji’s loss to Uruguay provided one of the shocks of the tournament, Matavesi reflecting: “The short turnaround going into the Uruguay and the number of team changes didn’t really help, but overall the World Cup was a great experience.
“Even before the tournament it was awesome to have so much time in Fiji – my kids came over and it was great for them to experience the Fijian side of our family. That’s all done now, though, I’m really happy to be back and I just want to get back playing for Newcastle as quickly as I can.
“I’ve been keeping up to date with everything that’s been going on at the club while I’ve been out in Japan, and it’s actually pretty easy to stay involved these days. The Falcons players have an app on which we get all the match footage and training footage, and then there’s the various club whatsapp groups plus our website and social media channels. It’s not as difficult as you might think, so it’s not as if I’m coming in cold.”
In Matavesi’s absence the Falcons have won all four of their games, although there have been some notable scrapes along the way.
“It’s nice to get into the habit of winning, and while I’m sure the guys will be honest in saying they’ve not really properly hit their straps yet I think it’s great that we’re still sat here with four wins from four games,” said the former Ospreys, Worcester, Racing 92 and Exeter player.
“The boys have acknowledged that last Saturday down at London Scottish wasn’t a great performance but we got the win, and that’s the main thing. It’s nice to know we’ve got so much more in the tank, and we’re determined to bring that out onto the pitch for everyone to see.
Kick in the teeth for Fiji's Sam Matavesi as he falls victim to a car park robbery in Londonhttps://t.co/4A9bbj3AF0
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 15, 2019
“What we’ve got to realise is that this isn’t a walk-over league.
“The team coming down from the Premiership is everyone’s cup final for the that first part of the season, and if you stay at the top of the table that extends out to the full season. We’ve got to keep high standards every day in training and at every single match, and if you disrespect this division you’ll be made to look stupid.
“We can’t get sucked into the trap, we’ve got to play Premiership-intensity rugby in the Championship, keep that pressure on teams and accept that there will be tough sides here who will make life difficult for us. If we respect our opposition and trust our processes then I think we’ll be fine, but it takes a lot of hard work to make it happen.”
New Zealand Rugby chairman Brent Impey has compared the way in which Northern Hemisphere unions treats Pacific players to that of 'colonialism' 😬https://t.co/1MSDSfeyH8
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 16, 2019
Keeping an open mind as to which sides will be up near the top of the table, Matavesi said: “Some people had been billing it as a straight shoot-out between us and Ealing, but Ealing lost their opening game down at Cornish Pirates last weekend.
“I never personally felt it would just be us and Ealing because Cornish Pirates are a very good side, and there are others in this league too, but it just goes to show you can’t take anything for granted. When you go down to my motherland in Cornwall – or God’s Country, as I call it – you’re in for a tough game. We’re down there ourselves next weekend so I guess we’ll find out, but first things first we need to focus on Hartpury at home this Friday.”
The Falcons defeated Hartpury 52-14 in rural Gloucestershire less than a fortnight ago in cup action, Matavesi confident that the onset of league rugby and the chance to play at Kingston Park will see the bar being raised even higher.
How the Gallagher Premiership's bottom line compares to the Guinness PRO14 https://t.co/WrGDM1Oyo0
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 15, 2019
“We want to make Kingston Park a stadium where we really suffocate teams, where they don’t want to come and play, and our only game here so far was a 57-0 win against a good Doncaster side,” he said.
“We’ll be looking to continue that to build a real foundation to our season, allying that to our record of winning away. As well as that, I think the boys have definitely noticed the difference between the cup competition and the start of the Championship proper. With that in mind I’m sure Hartpury will bring a completely different level from the other week when we played them in the cup, and we’re well aware it won’t be the same sort of game.
“From our side the intention is to completely blow them away with our tempo, and from a preparation point of view the focus is on us just taking care of our own game. Hopefully from there the scoreboard will look after itself.”
– Newcastle Falcons
Comments on RugbyPass
I like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
8 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
8 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
8 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
8 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to comments