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The depressing stat that shows how strong Fiji could be
By Josh Raisey
France have named their side to face Scotland in Nice on Saturday night, with the Fiji born Clermont Auvergne winger Alivereti Raka set to make his test debut.
The 24-year-old became a French citizen at the end of 2018, and is now in line to make his much anticipated international bow.
But the Tier 2 Rugby Twitter account shared a surprising stat after this team was announced, that Raka will become the third Fijian-born player to debut for another country in the space of a month.
He joins Sevu Reece, who started for the All Blacks against Argentina in July, as well as Isi Naisarani, who started for Australia throughout the Rugby Championship.
For a long time now it has been the scourge of the Pacific Island nations that their players end up playing for wealthier nations, but it has perhaps never been more apparent that an instance like this.
It must be particularly annoying for Fiji, as it was speculated throughout the Super Rugby season that Reece may choose to play for the country of his birth. But what is most impressive is that Fiji are still a team that enter the World Cup with a lot of confidence and ambition, boasting some world-class players.
The likes of Leone Nakarawa, Bill Mata, Semi Radradra and Josua Tuisova show Fiji have class all over the pitch, but there must be a feeling of what might have been. From England alone, they could have Nathan Hughes and Joe Cokanasiga, who were both born in Fiji (although Cokanasiga moved to England before he was one).
Players cannot be blamed for opting to play for various other countries, as this is ultimately their occupation, and is only lasts for a short period. But stats like these reveal the reality of international rugby currently, and the financial prowess of some teams, not to mention the potential Fiji would have should they manage to retain their players.
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Latest Comments
SCW really dislikes Eddie, doesn't he?
His words in 2019 before the RWC final that he now says should have resulted in Eddie's firing:
"Was Saturday’s sensational World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand England’s greatest ever performance? Yes, unquestionably, would be my answer."
So let's fire the coach one game later? Duh!
Go to commentsIreland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.
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