SCRUM Magazine – September 2019

1987: Quarter Final

1991: Pool Stage

1995: Did Not Qualify

1999: Quarter Final play-off

2003: Pool Stage

2007: Quarter Final

2011: Pool Stage

2015: Pool Stage

FIJIANS TIME TO SOAR AND

STUN THE BIG GUNS

ver the course of the last
decade, steady improvements
have been made in the Fijian
game - they’ve a well-respected national
team Head Coach in John McKee, and
most of their squad are now plying their
trade in top European leagues.
Bill Mata, for example, has been a
revelation since signing for Edinburgh and
is now regarded as one of the top number
eights in the European club game; while
Leone Nakarawa is another who shot to
fame, first at Glasgow Warriors and now
with Racing 92.
Nakarawa’s club-mates with Ben Volavola,
while Josua Tuisova, Peceli Yato and
Semi Radradra are all household names
in the French Top14, so with that kind of
firepower at their disposal, could this be
the World Cup where the Flying Fijians
ruffle the feathers of a rugby superpower?

Recently, Fiji pulled off a shock win over

the Maori All Blacks, a result that will

have given them confidence ahead of the

World Cup, with a difficult pool awaiting

them - including Australia and Wales.

But one of Fiji’s most famous victories

came at the 2007 Rugby World Cup

against the Welsh, a 38-34 victory,

including in Lens dumping Gareth Jenkins’

men from the tournament at the pool

stages.

The Wallabies will be keen to avoid a

repeat of their 2011 embarrassment,

when they were stunned by Samoa in

Sydney ahead of that year’s World Cup;

but Fiji are arguably a more dangerous

proposition this time round than the

Samoans were seven years ago.

McKee and his coaching staff will have

the Flying Fijians’ sights firmly locked in

on their meeting with the Wallabies in

the opening game on September 21, but

this World Cup also represents a great

opportunity for the Fijians to register

two pool wins, with games against lowly

Uruguay and Georgia to follow.

Their final match of the pool is against

Wales, another clash where the Flying

Fijians will be going all-out to repeat the

feat of 12 years ago.

There remains an issue about the depth

of their squad - McKee will need all his

key men fit and available if they are to

make inroads at the tournament - while

for all the flamboyance and flair in the

loose, their set-piece is still an area of

concern.

Their victory against France in November

2018 should act as a wake-up call to the

rest of the world.

O

FIJI

COACH:

JOHN MCKEE

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56 • WWW.SCRUMMAGAZINE.COM • ISSUE 116 2019

RUGBY WORLD CUP - TOP 10