Position, possession and pace are some of the key areas the FIJI Water Flying Fijians could examine as they prepare for their Test against the Wallabies this Sunday in Australia.
This was the advice rendered by former Flying Fijians captain Pita Nacuva, also known as Pita Kewa, for the concepts he collectively termed as ‘those three basics.’
“Just put aside the idea of who are they playing against. It’s just a question of whether I, as a first fiver, I as a half-back, I as a wing: what should I do when I receive this ball and run. It comes back into those three basics,” Nacuva said.
He highlighted areas in which the manner of play in the present compared to what was done or seen in the past.
“The only thing that I would say is that the only change is they’re not practicing their best basics.
“Some, when they are catching the ball, they’re looking at the gap. First of all, you must get the position, put it here because you fend with your hand here.
“These are some of the things that I see, and it hurts me, even at that level, they’re not doing the basics right: drop ball, tackle the way they should tackle.
“Those are the basic things, that’s something that I see when it’s happening and I’d say ‘Wow, are they learning the basics properly or not?’.”
With this in mind, he urged them to think about the basics he mentioned and how the players selected for the Tests against the Wallabies and Scotland.
“I want to say that because for people who are coming in to play rugby, you are here to serve,” he stated.
“But when you serve, you serve to the best of your ability.”
Nacuva was not only captain of the Flying Fijians in their September 1980 tour of New Zealand but was also the manager of the team at the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales.
He recalled his experience in the role with the team a wonderful one and how the players were disciplined in many respects.
“It was wonderful because they listened. Some of the things they used to do to us when we were camping, I changed it,” he recalled.
These changes included a prohibition of the consumption of kava in what he said would induce relaxation and help the players remain focused.
He mentioned these were put in since the players in the squad were amateur and not professional.
Seeing this play out, he said he urged the executives to pay them a month in advance as an incentive for them on the field.
“That’s something that sets their mind, their mindset should be settled, and they focus on the game and they did well,” he said.
Nacuva’s remarks were part of an interview by The Fiji Times for the RAKA FILES, a new series where former rugby players who were part of the national team recount their experiences in the build-up to the FIJI Water Flying Fijians’ July Tests.
The first Test against the Wallabies kicks off this Sunday at 3.30pm at the McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle.
Fiji last met the Wallabies at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, where they won 22-15.
