IT’S difficult to get over the fact that we gave away a strong lead over the Australian Wallabies in our opener at the Rugby World Cup at the Sapporo Dome, Japan on Saturday.
We were strong.
Our lines of attack were effective.
We nullified the effectiveness of the Wallabies’ attacks for at least 60 minutes of the game and held a 21-15 lead at one stage of the game before we succumbed 21-39.
Our lineouts went a notch up.
We were better co-ordinated.
Our hooker Sam Matavesi was on the mark.
National coach John McKee came off with a positive effort at the post-match press conference.
He acknowledged the effort by the Wallabies to claw their way back into the game.
He also acknowledged a drop in our scrum efforts.
He was reassuring though, noting technical aspects of our scrum that can be worked on.
That’s the kind of talk we look forward to from the coach.
His ability to pick out intricate details of our effort, dissect them, and make appropriate changes.
That means a lot for Fijian fans who were on a rollercoaster ride on Saturday.
You couldn’t doubt that Fiji was focused on the match.
It united a nation.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama continues to talk about us, a tiny nation punching above our weight.
From the coastlines that surround us, to the highest mountains, Fijians tuned in at 4.45pm on Saturday to lap up a game that pricked at our emotions.
This was a game we could have won.
This was a game that defined the quality of the Fijian player.
Those first 60 minutes raised expectations.
They lifted spirits, renewed belief in our players, inched out goosebumps and tugged at our levels of patriotism.
You could hear screams from many homes every time we were in possession.
When burly winger Josua Tuisova fended off an opponent, crashed into another to set up a try to exciting openside flanker Peceli Yato, the screams of Fijians came from the heart.
You could feel it!
The second try, to centre Waisea Nayacalevu, was breathtaking.
It sent emotions to dizzying heights.
Former Wallabies forward Stephen Hoiles is quoted post-match, warning Wales to be wary of the Flying Fijians.
“We all think the team that don’t get to spend too much time together traditionally — that’s often Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, all the tier two teams — they don’t get the 12, 14, 16 Test matches a year that Australia get,” Hoiles told news.com.au.
“So the longer Fiji gets to spend together, the more dangerous they’ll become. Wales they’re going to play another tough couple of games.”
Back home, that first game was like a revelation.
Forget about whether Australia didn’t play well.
Forget about this notion that has stuck like a bad smell, of us making up the numbers.
Go figure it out!
Perhaps the Flying Fijians were on the ball.
We nullified their strengths, but unfortunately fizzled out after the 60-minute mark for various reasons.
But we were competitive to pick out flaws in the Wallabies armour, and exploited them!
We just lacked the firepower to maintain that sense of belief in our systems to stay on the course.
McKee now has a challenge, to rediscover that 60-minute effort, and maintain a grip on our last quarter effort.
Then there is the bit about our scrums to set that vital platform for our explosive backline.
Fijians around the world will no doubt be looking forward with anticipation to a strong outing against Uruguay on Wednesday.
Can we find redemption?
Together we should say yes!
Go Fiji, go.
