DECRYPTAGE – Defeated at the gates of the last four on Sunday by England (30-24), the “Flying Fijians” leave France with their heads held high. And with suggestions for improvement for the next edition.
Eliminated in the quarter-finals of the World Cup by England after a suspenseful end to the match (30-24), the Fijians can be proud of themselves. Proud to have reached this stage of the competition for only the third time in their history, after 1987 and 2007. Proud to have thrilled millions of spectators and viewers with their spectacular game. Proud to have beaten Australia in the group stages, and to have made the English tremble until the end.
Gathered in the center of the Vélodrome field after their defeat, the men of the Pacific “talked about the journey“, explained second row Isoa Nasilasila. There are lessons to be learned from victories and defeats. We’re going to use everything we’ve experienced.” Here are five lessons to learn to enable the “Flying Fijians” to break the glass ceiling at the next World Cup.
An international class scorer
Frank Lomani, the Fijian scrum half (27 years old), finished the competition with a 73% success rate. An insufficient percentage, when the best scorers in the world tend to be around 85 or even 90%. Sunday, he let six points slip away… That is the gap between the two teams at the end of the match. His replacement, Simione Kuruvoli, didn’t do much better with one kick missed in three.
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«We didn’t know how to seize all our opportunities and we paid for it», summed up coach Simon Raiwalui after the meeting. And it’s a shame, given the offensive qualities of his men. Fiji posted the best occupancy rate of the opposing camp during the group stage (56.4%), but with a return of only 1.7 points per incursion, the second lowest average. Of course, this is not due solely to ineffectiveness at the foot. But the men of the Pacific would perhaps be more interested in the poles if they could rely on an international class scorer, capable of making their highlights come true.
Better discipline
Before their quarter-final, the Fijians were not at the bottom of the World Cup rankings in terms of penalties conceded. But on Sunday, against the XV de la Rose, they were reprimanded twelve times. When it passes two digits, this indicator is rarely a good sign. “We were too lenient at the start, we gave them a lot of penalties, conceded winger Semi Radradra at the end of the match. Especially in the quarter-final, against a big Tier 1 nation, we can’t give them penalties twice in a row. That’s what cost us the first half of the match.»
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Same story from the coach’s side: “We didn’t manage to put our game together in the first half, we took penalties and we were penalized in the rucks.» His men also received four yellow cards in this edition, their worst record in this area. Faced with teams who are pragmatic in taking points and scorers of the caliber of Owen Farrell, indiscipline is paid for in cash.
Greater regularity
Fiji reached the quarter-finals having lost two group matches, something only Fiji themselves in 1987 and France in 2011 had managed to do. However, they managed the feat of beating Australia (15-22), but curiously then fell against Portugal (23-24). A sign of a lack of consistency from one meeting to the next… but also during matches.
After a failed first half against the English, Josua Tuisova’s teammates produced fiery rugby for ten minutes, scoring two tries in quick succession (64th and 68th). Before going out again. Simon Raiwalui would undoubtedly appreciate no longer seeing his team on such an alternating current. Which would save him from a few cold sweats. Since the start of the competition, all Pacific men’s matches have ended with a gap of seven points or less.
More variation
Fiji is a style. A style inspired by Rugby 7s, a discipline in which the nationals excel. A desire to play upright, wide, with speed, doublings, passes after contact. All carried by some of the best three-quarters in the world, from Semi Radradra to Josua Tuisova, including captain Waisea Nayacalevu. Sunday against the XV de la Rose, this rugby only saw the light of ten minutes, time to score two tries and get back on track.
«We saw in the second half, when there was impact, passes after contact, it was the Fijian style. And we scored two tries», Analyzes third-row wing Meli Derenalagi. But when that doesn’t work, like in the first half, Simon Raiwalui’s men are destabilized, even powerless. And they would undoubtedly benefit from varying their times of their possession phases more. A striking statistic: the Fijians threw eight touches 10 meters from the opponent’s goal line during the competition, but this only resulted in one try. Too predictable, probably.
The Super Rugby experience
After Sunday’s defeat, pride took precedence over disappointment in the Fijian ranks. And more than pride, hope. Simon Raiwalui and his staff are already planning for the next deadlines with this group which, in the space of a month, has become a big, united, close-knit family. “With our performance manager, we did everything to establish a dynamic of long-term success and we had help from World Rugby. Everything is on track, explains the coach. We have made good progress in recent years and it will continue like this, with a view to 2027 and 2031. If we manage to put in place good infrastructure and if we refocus on long-term projects, we will succeed.»
The spearhead of the project must be the Fijian Drua, a professional franchise founded in 2017 and which provided 16 players to the national team for this World Cup. Since 2022, the team has played in Super Rugby where it faces the best New Zealand and Australian franchises during the season. Eleventh out of twelve in 2022, seventh in 2023, the Fijian Drua are progressing and will continue to do so by coming up against international level opponents every week.
