THE sea of red patriotic Tongan supporters failed to dampen the spirits of our brave Flying Fijians as they held firmly to their status as Oceania’s No.1 seed to the RWC.
Fiji cemented its spot in pool D alongside giants Australia, the Welsh dragons and Georgia.
It is always tough playing against the Ikale Tahi in Nukualofa, but Akapusi Qera and his brigade played their hearts out.
In a moving speech before handing out the jerseys, our inspirational captain asked the team to play their hearts out for the people of Fiji and I am glad that our boys did exactly that and created a legacy of their own. Every Fijian should be proud of the team’s effort and must continue to support the boys.
Our players did not let the nation down, but shouldered the responsibility of wearing the white jumper embedded with the coconut tree, with pride and humility. The match brought a lot of emotions.
Our forwards terminator Ma’afu, for instance, was not only playing against his relatives, but was also playing for his late dad.
Nakarawa, who scored Fiji’s lone try, cherished the emotional moment because it was at this venue that he made his debut for the Flying Fijians in 2009.
Now that the mammoth task of qualifying as Oceania’s No.1 to the RWC is over, we need more international Test matches against the Tier One nations to solidify our status and team bonding building up to the RWC.
If history has to repeat itself then I say the 2007 RWC final match against Wales comes to mind.
Scenes of that final pool match and the way our boys terrorised the Welshmen to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final against the Springboks, who eventually won the RWC, brings back a lot of smiles.
A big vinaka vakalevu to the boys for the wonderful victory and for conquering Teufaiva Park and surviving 80 minutes of a torrid rugby characterised by the never-say-die-attitude of the hosts and their tough defence, big hits and physical approach.
On the other hand, thousands of fans were denied the opportunity to watch our Flying Fijians live and vented their frustration via the social media. First it was the Fiji vs Australia match that our local TV stations failed to broadcast live and now it was the Fiji vs Tonga match. Hope the Fiji vs Samoa match will be shown live.
