England, beware: Fiji are as talented as ever — and now they are in good shape too

Paul Radradra Fiji in training before the match against England in Twickenham Photo: PA/Adam Davy

Simon Raivalui and Vaisea Nayakalevu were polite and soft at a meeting with reporters in Shepperton on Thursday. And yet, their humility couldn't hide a quiet confidence that seems rather ominous to all who have to face Fiji in the coming weeks, including England on Saturday. center, expressed it most simply. “We want to make history at this World Cup,” he said. «This is our main goal.»

Achieving Fiji's historic result in the upcoming tournament would require reaching the semi-finals, given their previous best results were in the last eight in 1987 and 2007. The current result Raivalui is well prepared for this.

First, they are ninth in the World Rugby rankings. While they are mostly meaningless (a belief Raivalui emphasized after he named his team after Twickenham), they bolster Fiji's playoff prospects.

Australia sits just above them in eighth place, with two more groups. rivals in Wales and Georgia are just below them at 10th and 11th. Portugal closes the most intriguing group of the World Cup.

According to Raivalui, a former player for the Sale Sharks, Newport and Saracens, he had a «short runway» and a «four-month cycle» rather than a four-year build-up. The 48-year-old took over from Vern Kotter as head coach in February, moving from being a highly effective general manager. He made his first Test, a 36:20 victory over Tonga at the Pacific Cup of Nations on 22 July. Prior to this, a trip to Taveuni Island had strengthened the bonds between his team.

“We didn’t have a hotel with fancy amenities,” said Raivalui. “We really went back and realized who we are, who we play for and for each other. It was a really important part of our preparation and it really gave us a good footing for the whole campaign.”

The schedule was tight, with Fiji taking further victories in Samoa and Japan, completing a Pacific Nations Cup win and then a homecoming before traveling to Europe. They lost 34-17 to France in Nantes, but Raivalui is pleased that his players are working on traditional vulnerabilities like maul defense and scrimmage without blunting the innate desire to provoke an attack with footwork, strength and offload.

“We wanted to get our fitness to the point where we could play rugby for 80 minutes at a very high level,” Raivalui explained. “Discipline too, we worked very hard on this. We worked on carries, cleanups, physics and standards. And, of course, our rugby, the way we want to play. We want to play like the Fijians.

«The developed countries are playing at a very high level,» he added. “They spend a lot of time together and our goal was to reach that level. We were a team that plays in spurts. One of our priorities was to play higher level teams for 80 minutes. We have talent, we have players. It's about being consistent for 80 minutes.

“This has been a problem for us and many developing countries for many years. The teams were able to say, «Let's wait 30 minutes because they'll get tired and their discipline [will drop].» Our goal was to root it out and see where we are.”

The cohesiveness of the Fijian team Drua, a team that has played in Super Rugby Pacific for the past two seasons, is considered a «big asset» to the national structure. On Saturday, for example, Droit's partnership at midfield in the face of Frank Lomani and Caleb Muntz, as well as in conjunction with Isoa Nasilasila and Te Ahiwaru Chirikidaweta. Drua's brightest runners include a back three of Vinay Habosi, Celestino Ravutaumada and Ilaisa Droasese.

Raivalui represented Fiji between 1997 and 2006 before switching to coaching and considers the team spirit to be the best since whom he has ever encountered. He was humiliated watching the youngsters interact with European club stars like Semi Radradra alongside Nayakalevu in midfield on Saturday.

Premier League viewers will be familiar with Eroni Mavi, Sam Matavesi and Albert Tuishu. Temo Mayanavanua and Kalaveti Ravvuvu, recruited ahead of next season by the Northampton Saints and Bristol Bears respectively, will become popular figures among fans.

Levani Botia and Joshua Tuisova, the latter of whom is recovering from injury, will miss the match . kick at Twickenham. This will be a consolation for England because they are one of the most explosive players on the planet. And yet there were more sinister fragments. Raivalui believes that Fiji «so far has not fired a single shot» this year, except for «blocks of 20 or 30 minutes». Nayakalev, now 33 and preparing for his third World Cup with Fiji, is convinced that «this group is different.» When asked how the team would look like staying true to itself, his eyes lit up.

“We want to play freestyle rugby,” Nayakalevu said. before half-glancing at Raivalui and hinting at a smile. “And still keep our structure.”