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'Test rugby is a big commitment and I have done it for 10 years but if they asked I would love to'
Josh Matavesi is backing Fiji to make a major impact in the new Eight Nations tournament despite the squad never having trained under new coach Vern Cotter and nearly a year having passed since they played a test fixture.
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While the odds seem stacked against the Fijians, who have been drawn in a four-team pool with France, Scotland and Italy in the new tournament being played over the four weekends from 13 November to 6 December, Bath centre Matavesi knows all about the world-class talent available to Cotter.
The former Scotland and Montpellier head coach will hold his first training camp with the squad in France on October 25, following what has become a “ normal” preparation for Fiji. This will be Fiji’s fourth camp to be held in France and recognises the fact that the majority of their professional players are based in Europe. The training camp held prior to the 2019 Rugby World Cup featured 18 players based in France and 14 from the UK and Cotter will name a similar squad next week.
Cotter, who replaced John McKee in January, can call upon stars including Semi Radradra, who scored a brilliant solo try for Bristol in their big European Challenge Cup win over Dragons, Glasgow’s Leone Nakawara, Viliame Mata at Edinburgh, Leicester’s Kini Murimuvalu, Peceli Yato at Clermont, La Rochelle’s Levani Botia and Joshua Tuisova at Lyon. The wide range of talent available to Cotter is highlighted by the fact Brive have seven Fijian’s in their squad with another four at Castres. Cotter has also been trying to persuade players based in New Zealand to opt for Fiji rather than try for All Blacks honours.
Matavesi retired from test rugby after the World Cup which saw Fiji lose their final pool match 29-17 to Wales and they have not played a test since that contest. While he opted to call it a day after winning 24 caps, Matavesi, who is still only 29, admits the joy he is getting from helping Bath bid for the Gallagher Premiership title has recharged his rugby batteries and he would consider a return to national colours if Cotter made that call.
Matavesi, who is preparing for Bath’s home clash with Gloucester when 1,00 fans will be allowed in the ground on Tuesday, told RugbyPass: “Many of the Fiji players in Europe are the best at their clubs and it is a great to be involved in the Eight Nations tournament. The benefits that come with being in this tournament will be fantastic for the boys and the player pool will grow with more fixtures and we will get even better. I hope the boys go out and be brave, show their style of play.
“Test rugby is a big commitment and I have done it for 10 years and if they asked I would love to, but let’s see what happens. During lockdown I really missed the game and I told myself I would just enjoy rugby when it restarted. If Vern wants me then we can have a conversation.
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“I was involved in our camp in Toulouse last year before the World Cup and while you cannot do a lot physically you can go through strategy and team values. You do get a lot out of it and can bond with the coaches and it will be important to get face to face with Vern and understand what it’s like to work with and what the vibe is.”
The Matavesi family will be supplying hooker Sam to the Fiji squad and he is currently with Northampton and the youngest member of the clan – Joel – helped Newcastle return to the Premiership which means all three brothers will be operating in the top flight of English rugby next season.
Bath have moved up to third in the Premiership and Matavesi has been at the heart of their impressive run and added: “We really work hard at our shape in attack at Bath and there is more than one way to skin a cat and we back ourselves to have the courage to go wide but we also have the pack which is going really well. We are not trying to be the All Blacks – just the best we can be.
“Our win at Sale was really important and we imposed our style of rugby of them and that was credit to the forwards who put their bodies on the line. It is fantastic that the fans will be back against Gloucester and I am sure the 1,000 will generate enough noise to make up for those who would love to be there. Ben Spencer joined from Saracens, is a really good guy and a great influence on the other scrum-halves and we want to play quick but also have that kicking game.
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“Our target is to get to the Premiership final but we have a massive game against Gloucester and then play Saracens. Momentum is with us but we cannot afford to get ahead of ourselves.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Both nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to comments