A LOT of hype surrounding Fiji’s anticipated qualification from Pool A the pool of death in the 2015 Rugby World Cup has been stimulated by the Flying Fijians apex standing at the conclusion of the 2015 PNC and the media.
As patriots of Fiji, we all want to see our team do well but there are certain realities that the team must front up to in order to be counted as a reliable contender for international rugby’s holy grail.
Firstly, the wings of our Flying Fijians backline will remain clipped if our forward unit is not competitive in all facets of attack/defence plays. It has to approach its game with a mentality of wanting to hurt and destroy the opposition in any ensuing battle i.e scrum, ruck, maul, lineouts, etc. Dominance in these areas will provide our lethal and exciting world-class backline the base from which to dazzle and score points. As current Wallabies scrum doctor, Mario Ledesma, succinctly puts it: We have to make it part of our DNA that we exist to smash and completely destroy the opposition forwards pack. That is the very reason why we exist and without which we will continue to be practise pack for the supposedly big-boys.
This is the mind-set that sets the Argentine pack a cut above the rest and the international benchmark in the school of hard-knocks ever since it started playing test rugby decades ago.
Secondly, its rugby industry common knowledge that our forwards tend to shy away from frontal brutal confrontations and hence the perennial Achille heel.
So the oppositions will definitely employ razor like focus strategies with surgical precision execution to gain from this perceived weakness in our rank in order to win. This is basic SWOT/SCOT analysis at play coupled with psychological advantage gained from hard proof experience derived from consistent year-in-year-out international test exposures. However, Uruguay would be an exception to this notion and hence a sure scalp for us.
Furthermore, let this challenge be a special mission hardwired to any member of our Fijian forwards pack, to not only be competitive but dominate the opposition so that the dream of this mighty nation becomes a reality. For if one will do one’s very best, there will be no regrets after this tourney and this squad will be remembered in history as one that walked the talk ,given John McKee’s numerous assurances to the nation that this squad is perfect in almost everything that matters in rugby.
Finally, do not view this article as pessimistic in content but it serves to highlight certain bottom line for the Flying Fijians and most probably will put our expectations into proper perspective.
Kudos to the Nadi Jets for a strong effort at Lawaqa Park in the first HFC Farebrother Sullivan challenge last weekend and happy hunting to the Nakuruvarua warriors against the Miners today.
