Confidence and exposure place Flying Fijians on a high plane

When Sir Steve Hansen, the former New Zealand All Blacks coach, was asked what he thought about the Flying Fijians’ win over England on Sunday, he spoke about confidence and exposure.

Speaking on ‘The Breakdown’ TV show in New Zealand, he said Fiji had to play to their strengths, which was “to just use the ball and go for it”.

He placed great value on the set piece, and pointed out it could be an area teams could focus on to put the Flying Fijians under pressure.

He highlighted how the Springboks dominated the set pieces to thrash the All Blacks.

However, it is the emphasis on confidence and exposure that is placing the Flying Fijians on a high plane.

“They are going to be dangerous because they can play footy and you’re seeing the benefits of them getting their confidence of being in Super Rugby, rubbing shoulders with international players all the time both in New Zealand and Australia and they’ve gone up to England without the fears or intimidation of playing in a place like Twickenham,” he was quoted saying.

It’s an apt description of the state of Fijian rugby.

Ṫhat win at the home of English rugby, in Twickenham will be savoured to the brim, because it is special.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka echoed the sentiments of proud Fijians, congratulating the side for Sunday’s win.

We hope the win will set in motion positive vibes, and that other sporting organisations like soccer will use this as motivation to reach out for the stars so to speak.

It hasn’t been an easy journey for Fiji rugby to get to where it is now.

And as we look forward to the Rugby World Cup in France next month, we are buoyed by impressive campaigns at the Pacific Nations Cup competition, and against France and England.

We have overcome an Achilles Heel of Fijian rugby, a drop in intensity in the final quarter of big games. We have stabilised our scrums and are very competitive now.

We held up two of Europe’s strong scrums when we came up against France and England.

Attention will now shift to our preparations leading up to the opener against Wales in France.

The Flying Fijians will need the support and encouragement of its supporter base.

It will need to be reassured that it has the confidence of fans, and will be carrying the hopes and aspirations of expectant Fijians around the world.

So where to from here?

We say, keep the discipline, train hard, address any weaknesses we may have, and stay focused!