Renowned professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey says the moment you stop viewing your opponent as a threat is the moment you leave yourself open to getting beat.
The UFC and WWE pro’s words should be taken to heart by the Flying Fijians on Monday (Fiji time) when they take on Wales – who are seething from a less than ideal preparation — in the leadup to the 2023 Rugby World Cup. In fact, our boys – the seventhranked team in World Rugby – have two opponents they need to fix their eyes on and factor into their preparations.
First are the match officials. They can be the biggest threat to the team, so it will depend on how players adapt to how the match is officiated.
The second is a position that has been the talk of Fiji’s recent games – that of the halfback. After all, Fiji needs clean wins and no 50-50 play because that can impact the final outcome of their Pool C round-robin games. There are two determinants for Fiji to play at their best.
For their part – the side must be very disciplined. Having said that, match officials must also be fair in their decision-making if our boys are to have any chance of succeeding.
The onus is on the players themselves to deliver a clean game — to perform at their best and to be above reproach — to ensure match officials do not interfere as the games progress.
Match officials
World Rugby has named 26 match officials: 12 referees, 7 assistant referees and 7 television match officials (TMO) from 9 nations with more than 630 Test appearances between them.
While there appears to be some diversity, in my view it is a pity that Takehito Namekawa, Katsuki Furuse, Shuhei Kubo, Tomohiro Koyama of Japan Rugby Football Union, and Cwengile Jadezweni, Paul Mente, and Archie Sehlako, who are top referees in the National A Panel of the South African Rugby Union, are not included in the list.
And then you have Fiji’s top referee Tevita Rokovereni, who was part of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in South Africa last year, who did not make it to officiate in Paris.
He has been part of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments, the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Oceania Games and Pacific Games.
He has been consistently picked in Super Rugby as an assistant referee. One wonders what criteria was used to choose officials to be part of the panel.
If officials are chosen only because their nations have more than 630 Test appearances between them, then this is an area that needs to be thoroughly reexamined. In stark contrast to rugby union, FIFA is seemingly very inclusive when it comes to choosing match officials.
At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, assistant referee Tevita Makasini of Tonga received the call-up as a member of the Oceania match officials to be part of the event. At the time, Tonga was ranked 207 in the April 2018 FIFA rankings.
My concerns about match officials being Fiji’s critical opponent in rugby are also shared by others who have more skin in the game.
At this year’s RWC, Fiji’s match results and maybe all results will at some point be decided solely by officials’ decisions, regardless of their inconsistency or bias.
France defence coach Shaun Edwards, in a Planet Rugby report, said he believed discipline issues “are taking over the game” and could have a “major impact” at the RWC.
In the recent warm-up matches under Simon Raiwalui’s stewardship, Fiji recorded a significant decrease in cards and that is a good sign, but the debate around dangerous tackles and the flashing of cards will impact this year’s competition.
Fiji’s attack and backs coach Glen Jackson, in an earlier report, said discipline could be an important factor in determining the team’s fate this year in France.
He said it had improved immensely in terms of conceding penalties as the team’s “goal is obviously to be more disciplined”.
In most cases, fans are left to cry over spilt milk as the match officials’ decision cost Fiji its chances. Match officials, after all, are only human.
Case in point, an ESPN report on October 17, 1999, titled ‘O’Brien – I was wrong’, was about renowned international referee Paddy O’Brien who admitted he made an error in the crucial Pool 3 game between France and Fiji when he denied Fiji a try in their 28-19 defeat that consigned them to a quarter-final playoff against England.
Apart from the missed try, he also gave France a penalty try that put them back in front — a decision that infuriated Fijians.
Swire Shipping Fijian Drua coach Mick Byrne had been vocal about match officials, especially TMOs’ tough calls and intervention during the Super Rugby competition.
It even worsened when Byrne revealed that an official in charge of a game apologised a few days later.
Halfback
Halfback is a critical position in the 15- man game as the person manning that berth connects the forwards and backline players. It can be said that the actions, or inaction, of whoever is at halfback has a big say in the flow of the game.
In the past Drua and the Flying Fijians games, the strength of the team lay entirely in the performance of the halfback. The Flying Fijians have three capable players who have been entrusted to take on the role and deliver what is expected.
But the burning question on almost every ardent Fijian fan’s mind is – who will and should be the first-choice halfback come the RWC opener against Wales on Monday? The onus is on the man wearing No 9 to make the necessary delivery as and when needed.
Lomani
Many see Frank Lomani as a stumbling block in the Flying Fijians’ unorthodox style of play. Lomani is an alternative vision player. Rugby critics have put his ability (or rather the lack of it) in the spotlight.
Against France and England, he was exposed off the ruck. His delaying tactics gave opponents the advantage of dominating the ruck and gaining turnovers. If that is the case, then the question is, what are Raiwalui and Byrne seeing that we aren’t?
Lomani has his own pattern of play that includes delaying delivery tactics and unplanned box kicks that burden his teammates. He may be world-rated and a very talented player, but delaying passes from a ruck gives opposing teams time to organise their defence.
It prevents our boys from executing their game plan as the line of defence is literally in their faces while Lomani is trying to make out which way the ball should go.
As I stated earlier, in 2021 Rebels coach Dave Wessels shifted Lomani to the wing and I believe it is highly likely for the same reason. Too much indecision.
Kuruvoli
Simione Kuruvoli is a player with peripheral vision. He brings a whole new approach to the game when he comes on. Kuruvoli does what a halfback needs to do – deliver the ball and organise formidable moves on the fly.
He shows exceptional skill in terms of delivering quick balls with skill and precision. Kuruvoli maintains fastpaced play and this keeps the game dynamic. One could say that Peni Matawalu and Kuruvoli play a similar style.
As we prepare to cheer on the boys on Monday next week, our hope is that the Waisea Nayacalevu-skippered side can conquer their two biggest opponents, and in the process, slay the giants in our pool.
