As their voices resounded around Hamilton, at the FMG Stadium, Waikato, the Flying Fijians were joined by the NZ All Blacks. Their voices came together, ending another tough encounter. There was acknowledgement to the higher One. And there was acknowledgement from the hosts, of a physical clash.
It was a fitting end to the second Test.
After that powerful display in Dunedin in the first Test, the Flying Fijians came undone last night, bowing out 13 – 60.
But not before raising the hopes and cheers of Fijian fans around the world with glimpses of the form we saw the previous weekend.
Whatever anyone says, Fijian rugby came off yesterday buoyed by another credible display upfront. Our lineouts were competitive. Our scrums started off well, but then came undone as the game progressed, and when skipper
Leone Nakarawa was sent to the bin. It never recovered.
Technicalities, tactics and strategies differed on the field.
However, this is what professional rugby is all about.
You learn from the first Test, work on your weaknesses, consolidate your strengths, and plan appropriately. You nullify opposition strengths and exploit weaknesses.
It was very clear All Blacks coach Ian Foster knew what he had to do.
The embarrassment in Dunedin could not be allowed to be repeated.
National coach Vern Cotter spoke about trying to get past feeding off scraps.
The team showed glimpses of this on attack. The challenge though was always going to be on sustaining pressure. We met very strong resistance from the new All Blacks backrow of Akira Ioane on the blindside, Ardie Savea at openside flanker, and number eight Luke Jacobson. Savea was on fire, pushing the boundaries, and keeping our breakdown work under pressure.
But in a losing side, it was pleasing to note the work of our backrowers once again.
Blindside flanker Johnny Dyer, openside flanker Mesulame Kunavula and number eight Peceli Yato started off well, and met their match, however, it is obvious Cotter will be happy with their effort, and has a base to work from. We missed Levani Botia’s work around the breakdowns and in stabilizing our midfield.
Cotter will come off with some positives. The All Blacks defence nullified our attacking shapes, however, it almost came undone on two occasions when we were able to manipulate openings close to the breakdowns. Cotter had spoken about this in the lead up to the Test. The challenge was always going to be how well we could set this up against a side which was obviously geared up for a fight along the trenches, and how consistent we could be.
In the end though, the end result meant another dominant performance by the All Blacks. We still say, go Fiji, go. And we thank the fans who made the game extra special.
