Flying Fijians speedster Jiuta Wainiqolo believes the All Blacks have showed them the standard they need to meet to play against Tier One nations.
Wainiqolo played against the All Blacks for the first time in his playing career in San Diego two weeks ago.
While people looked at the 5-47 scoreline, Wainiqolo said there are other factors taken out of that match particularly for youngsters like him who were playing the three-time world champions for the first time.
“It was great Test match for me because it my first time playing the All Blacks. I know that majority of the players were glad that we got that Test match because it was a huge learning curve for all of us. Some of the boys in the team have played the All Blacks in New Zealand but majority of us were experiencing it for the first time,” the Toulon winger shared.
He said Tests as such surely showed the growth of rugby and where the Flying Fijians need to be as the game continues to evolve.
“Despite the result, there were a lot of takeaways from that match in terms of the standard that we need to reach. The All Blacks showed us the standard required if we were to play against Tier One nations. We saw where the Flying Fijians is at in that game, and we know that it won’t be easy, but we can only improve and move upwards.
“Nothing is impossible, we will have a lot of opportunities to play tier one teams like South Africa and New Zealand but for the time being, personally I am happy that I got to play against the All Blacks,” he added.
Wainiqolo is currently in the country and will leave for France soon as the Top 14 2024-2025 season is set to begin in September.
He will not be part of the Flying Fijians team that will play in the upcoming Pacific Nations Cup.
