Fiji could be set for sea change in World Cup fortunes

Fiji have always been the great entertainers of rugby, the sport's equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters, but at this Rugby World Cup two important developments suggest they could go far.

The extraordinary natural talent which has brought Fiji huge success on the Sevens stage – two successive Olympic titles attests to that – has secured lucrative contracts abroad for many of their players.

That, along with some of their best players being snapped up by Australia and New Zealand in the past – to the chagrin of rugby-mad Fijians – has led to a disconnection with their compatriots.

Now things might be changing.

On a competitive level, the Fijian Drua franchise being given a place in the Super Rugby competition beginning last year has ensured Fiji can retain far more homegrown talent.

Underlining this, nine of the matchday 23 for their World Cup opener with Wales play for Fijian Drua whereas in their 2019 pool match just three were based in Fiji.

Head coach Simon Raiwalui has engineered the second change, that of bringing the players and staff back to their roots and connecting with their compatriots.

"I think right from the beginning our focus has been where we're from, who we are and who we're playing for," said Raiwalui on Friday.

"We came in with a focus at the beginning of the campaign of reconnecting as a group, reconnecting to our people, reconnecting to who we are.

"We went back to a village environment without the comforts of staying in a five-star hotel, and things weren't always perfect but it was about us reconnecting to who we are."

Raiwalui said one of his priorities when he filled the vacancy left by Vern Cotter, who surprisingly stepped down in February, was to bring back all the players from abroad so they could recall what life was like in Fiji.

"It's one of the beauties and challenges of Fiji rugby," said the 48-year-old former test lock.

"You come from all over the world, playing overseas, so we brought in players from Europe, from Australia, Japan and Fiji, and it's a challenge to bring everyone together.

"As soon as I got the role it was what I envisaged us doing."

THE GLORY BOYS

Raiwalui is a case in point. He was born in New Zealand to Fijian parents but played all his club rugby abroad, including for Welsh outfit Newport.

He says that much-watched videos of the squad singing together on the bus is not only a sign of their camaraderie but also a natural continuation of their upbringing.

"Those videos you see of us singing on the bus or going up the sand dunes are organic," he said.

"I think with the singing, it's not just this campaign, they've been doing it since they were kids in church, with their families, it's just ingrained.

"So when you come into the team environment it's just a continuation of who they are."

Cotter told AFP the Super Rugby franchise has been "a big game changer", where the natural talent has been added to by good habits off the pitch.

"Entering Super Rugby and competing at that level week in week out they have learned good habits," he said.

"They eat properly for starters, they enjoy high-quality competition and are well-paid, so money goes back to their families.

"It is a positive environment for everybody. They needed a professional team. It transformed the rugby scene."

Cotter, who is at the World Cup in France acting as a consultant to Romania, said it forced a sea change in the habits of the players.

"Village boys turning up who did not have good habits, whether it was diet or whatever, had to ditch those in order to raise his performance," he said.

"They had to adapt due to the expectations of the team, because it was on TV and support quickly followed."

He admitted though that: "Some did not adapt."

"What symbolises the transformation for me is that the 'Glory Boys' as they are known used to be those that played overseas.

"Now it is the Fijian Drua who are the 'Glory Boys'."