1
'Big Bill' Mata 'a better player' following Barbarian debut
By Online Editors
After making his Barbarians' bow, 'Big Bill' Mata has turned his eyes to the Wallabies at the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
The Barbarians entertained the Twickenham crowd on Sunday, taking an England XV all the way in a 51-43 thriller which featured 13 tries and 80 minutes of fast-paced, running rugby.
Fijian Number 8 Viliame 'Big Bill' Mata made his debut for the invitational side and put in a typically combative display at the home of English Rugby.
Mata will be hoping to make a return to Twickenham on Saturday 16th November with his national side, Fiji, where they face the Barbarians in the first international match to be held in the UK after the Rugby World Cup. The Rio 2016 Olympic gold medal winner and 2018/19 Pro 14 Player of the Year explained this week what it means to represent the two most entertaining teams in international rugby.
"Making my debut last weekend for the Barbarians was a big step in my career. The Barbarians are known for world class players and being a part of the club is really exciting.
"The Barbarians have been going for many years with top quality players from around the globe coming together to make a world class team. Playing with a new group of players is what’s so exciting about becoming a Barbarian.
"Every game for the Barbarians is massive and it’s all about putting on a world class show for the fans. Playing on such a big stage like Twickenham makes it even more special and helps build you as a player. The occasion makes you a better rugby player.
"My main goal now is to get into Fiji’s final squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and from there we will take every game as we go. We’ve got Australia in our first game so it’s going to be tough for us but we’re aiming to finish the tournament well.
"I’ve had a good season with Edinburgh and the club has been really good to me. They like to use my strength and my talent on the field and putting out a game plan that suits me and my abilities well. Building up to the World Cup I want to take those performances and put them into the Fiji team.
"Fiji and the Barbarians have a similar style of play, with less structure than most sides. We want to give the ball out wide and run from anywhere on the pitch. Hopefully I’ll be involved for Fiji when they return to Twickenham to play the Barbarians in November, after the World Cup.
"It’ll be a really fast match as both teams just love to play the game. There will be more action from those two sides than you’ll find in almost any other game."
The Barbarians return to Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 16th November to play Fiji in the Killik Cup. Tickets are on general sale now from www.ticketmaster.co.uk/barbarians with a special early bird offer and 50% off top price adult tickets for a limited time only
Trending on RugbyPass
2
South Africa vs England player ratings | 2024 Autumn Nations Series
3
All Blacks player ratings vs France
4
Netherlands serve up Tier 2 shock as another World Cup side slayed
5
Latest Comments
There are very few NH people here and very few of them complain about refs so what you are saying there is not true. You can see that over the weekend a narrative has arisen where many SH folk are maintaining that Argentina were robbed in Dublin and that NZ were robbed in France. It's utter nonsense.
I am not saying England were robbed. I am saying that 10 times out of 10 a penalty for cynically bringing down a maul in your own 22 is yellow. Brace mentioned the existing yellow and only awarded a penalty. That was unfair on England.
Go to commentsMy takeaway from the game was that Ireland are a team in decline.
It's a very old squad, and you wonder how long the likes of JGP, Lowe, Aki, Murray, Henshaw, Ringrose, Healy - all players in their early to mid 30's will be able to continue to perform.
When you have a 35-year-old in Murray replacing JGP for the AB game is very telling and that a 37 Cian Healy is still playing at this level, which means as he only plays limited minutes running down World Class talent Porter into the ground.
That Argentina was able to chase Ireland down and be in a position to draw or win in the last play of the game was telling. A couple of years ago, Argentina would have been blown off the park but now...
So yip, I think by the 2027 WC Ireland will very much have fallen back into the pack - will still have a great pack but will not be among the favourites for the WC.
Go to comments