There’s a strong case to be made that, over the past month, the most exciting rugby team in the world has not been the All Blacks, the Springboks, or even Les Bleus, but rather the magnificent Flying Fijians.
Of course if we were talking about Sevens, this would be a mute statement. With respect to Eric Rush, Gordon Tietjens, and the incredible Kiwi sevens teams of the 90s, that particular brand of rugby only becomes the global touring phenomenon it is because of Fiji, and in particular Waisale “The Wizard” Serevi.
But unlocking Fiji’s scintillating potential in the 15 man game has been a frustrating code to crack, until now.
An unbeaten run in the Pacific Nations Cup, followed by a generational win against England in Twickenham, and now a close loss against Wales in what was the game of Rugby World Cup 2023, has made the Fijian rugby must-watch sports, with the team taking on Australia overnight tonight.
Contrary to what some have written, this hasn’t simply come about because of the eligibility change in international laws. Fiji’s improved consistency is more to do with infrastructure and completion.
Two years ago I began making a podcast series with John Daniel and Talei Anderson called Fair Game: Pacific Rugby Against the World, that aired earlier this year. Sure, the title was dramatic, but it was to highlight that teams like Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga weren’t just having to navigate the tactics of international teams, but also the political maneuverings within world rugby that saw them playing each other more than anyone else.
A lot has changed for Fiji since then.
“We’re playing against the best in the world.. these are the games that we want to play more often,” noted Fiji coach Simon Rawaloui in the Welsh post-game press match.
“I think the more often that we get these games, the better we get. I think that consistency of matches, playing at the highest level, I think Fiji... we improve every time we play and we contest with the best in the world, so we need more matches like this.”
“Absolutely,” agreed Welsh coach Warren Gatland, as he did his own presser a few minutes later.
“I understand that completely. When I first came to Wales I was asked by the CEO what sort of games.. do you want to get, and I said get the best teams in the world you can. It’s the only way you get better. It’s the best way to learn and to develop as a player, by playing the best sides.”
Samoa, ranked world no.12, just about knocked off world no.1 Ireland the same day Fiji gained their historic victory at Twickenham. Ireland managed to hold on, but it suddenly made Samoa’s world cup pool with with England, Japan, and Argentina a second pool of death.
Samoa couldn’t quite pull off a famous one-two Pacific punch, but then again it was their only other top northern hemisphere competition since playing Italy and Georgia last year, who are both currently ranked below them.
In fact comparing Samoa and Fiji’s top level competition is borderline laughable. Since the last World Cup, Fiji have played New Zealand, France, Scotland and Georgia twice, plus Italy, Ireland, England, and Wales once, for a total of 12 matches.
Samoa, since the last World Cup, has just those three aforementioned Tests. When I talked about it to Samoan coach Seilala Mapusua during the podcast Fair Game, I actually ended up crying, though if you’ve ever listened to my other RNZ podcast, that’s probably on brand.
Tonga, who almost upset France at the 2019 World Cup, have also played three Tests against top tier nations, losing by 102 points to New Zealand, 60-14 to Scotland, and 69-3 to England. But those were all in 2021, with a squad that was essentially thrown together. Meanwhile there are enough Tongan’s playing in other 2023 World Cup squads that you could field an actual Tonga vs. Tongan diaspora game.
Here’s the thing about the 2023 Tongan team; they’re incredibly proud, haven’t forgotten those 2021 maulings, have more wins than losses this year, and always manage to scare a top level team. South Africa, Scotland, and Ireland will all be worried that they’ll end up facing that Tongan team.
Yes there’s the Pacific Nations cup, but Japan and Tonga are ranked no. 14 and 15, and as coach Rawaloui said on Sunday night:
“When you’re playing against the best teams, and you’re playing against them consistently, you’re improving as a team your combinations and all that. So I think every team that’s in the developing nation category wants more of those opportunities to play against those developed countries. I think when you ring-fence the matches for the developed countries they continue to improve. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”
* James Nokise is a comedian, rugby fan and the producer, writer and host of Fair Game: Pacific Rugby Against the World.
- RNZ