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Liam Messam names 'the freakiest player' he's ever played with
In 17 years of professional rugby, 43-Test All Black Liam Messam played with some of the world’s finest players. None compared to Fiji’s Josua Tuisova.
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A standout in the Flying Fijians’ historic win over the Wallabies, Tuisova has earned huge praise for his damaging play on both sides of the ball.
The 29-year-old was an undeniable influence on the outcome of the match; a joint leader for carries (11) and turnovers won (3) while running for the second-most metres in the match and scoring his team’s only try.
It’s the kind of performance Messam was well aware his former Toulon teammate was capable of.
“Bro, he’s a freak,” Messam told RWC on Island.
“I’ve played with some world-class players, some freakish players, guys like (Sitiveni) Sivivatu, Mils Muliaina, Dan Carter. But hands down, Josua Tuisova’s the freakiest player I’ve ever played with.
“He’s your typical Fijian too, sometimes he doesn’t show up, like ‘leave me alone, I don’t want to play today’ and then some days he’s the best player in the world and we’re seeing that.
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“His calves are the same size as Nili (Latu’s) head. He’s a big man and really impressive to see.”
Tuisova played across the backline during Fiji’s Pacific Nations Cup campaign, helping the team to a perfect record to win the competition.
The team built on that form and while a loss to France kicked off their Rugby World Cup warm-up games on a disappointing note, they bounced back with a first-ever win over England at Twickenham.
Tuisova didn’t play in that game after sustaining a knock in training, he then started the World Cup coming off the bench against Wales. Once on the field, the 113kg bruiser sparked a resurgence and brought Fiji back to the brink of victory, only to fall short in the dying moments.
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He was subsequently promoted to start at second five-eighth for the Wallabies Test.
Traditionally, Fiji wins have come through dazzling, expansive play with long-range attacking plays sparked from all over the field. But against Australia, the team built pressure through their set piece and work at the breakdown before converting the Wallabies’ ill discipline into points through Simione Kuruvoli’s penalty kicks.
“It’s really impressive,” Messam said of the Fijian gameplan. “Maybe Fiji’s not known for kicking goals but it’s really going to pay off at the end of the tournament.
“The bonus is they’ve got the crowd on their side now, they’re the second favourite team in the competition. There’s France and then there’s going to be Fiji.
“You see all the people dressed up in Bula shirts and chanting, that goes a long way when you’re playing in a tournament.”
As is the case every World Cup, fans can’t help but love the Fijian team. Former Manu Samoa star Tuilagi Alesana Tuilagi sees the team having what it takes to go all the way.
“The quality of the players that Fiji have, and the team, it shows last week,” he said of the win over Australia. “They can beat any team in the world. There’s a passion for the game and they believe that with the way they played, they can beat any team in this competition.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
31 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
31 Go to comments