• We need to beat Australia, New Zealand, then celebrate -Waisale Serevi

  •Tier 1 and Tier 2 is just nomenclature derived from whether or not you’re in the Six Nations or The Rugby Championship. Italy are a Tier 1 nation and are ranked 15th in the world. We are a Tier 2 nation and ranked 8th – FRU Geoff Webster

The Waisale Serevi says the win over France

last month is a sign of better things to come for the Fiji Airways Flying Fijians ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

The sevens rugby legend, who also played for Fiji in 15s at the 1991, 1999 and 2003 RWC said it was happy moment watching his countrymen overpowered France 21-14 for the first time.

“We’ve shown the world what can happen,” he told Rugby Pass from his home in Seattle.

“It’s history for us and a stepping stone. It’s a platform for us to go to the World Cup knowing that we can win at that level if we stay to the structure, the discipline and the patience.

“Individually we maybe a little bit better than some other players in the world. Our forwards are faster and skilful, our backs are faster and stronger. But to be the best, you need to attack and defend as a team and have very good structure.

“The only thing that separates the best teams in the world is patience and discipline. The top teams are creating 15 phases to score tries or get three points.

“We need to play a lot of Tier One nations and compete on that level so that we can be competitive.”

“We need to play Australia and New Zealand more often. They have a lot of Pacific Island players with them. The least they can do is support the island teams by playing Tests against them. That is the only way that we can gain from losing our players.

“I always watch our team celebrate winning against Tonga and Samoa. That is not the one. We need to go up and beat New Zealand, Australia, South Africa – then we celebrate.”

Fiji Rugby Union general manager, Geoff Webster also shared Serevi’s sentiments.

He told RugbyPass:

“Whatever form the future of global rugby takes, we think we deserve an opportunity to compete with the best.

“Tier 1 and Tier 2 is just nomenclature derived from whether or not you’re in the Six Nations or The Rugby Championship.

“Italy are a Tier 1 nation and are ranked 15th in the world, we are a Tier 2 nation and ranked 8th.

“If World Rugby goes down the route of the ‘league of nations’ and it’s based on world ranking and current performance, we should become a Tier 1 nation, surely?

“I think, sometimes, those terms are rattled around to our detriment and maybe to protect one or two teams.”

The proof has been there for everyone to see over the last couple of years and Webster believes that results such as the one they pulled off against France, do not have to be a one-off for the island nation.

“A game like France away, or Scotland at home, demonstrates that, with the right preparation, we can more than hold our own against the best teams in the world,” Webster said.

“Whenever we tour or are in preparation to face a Tier 1 side, we come together for a couple of days before the first test and we generally underperform.

“This year, Scotland had already played Wales and we had had two real training days in Edinburgh before the test.

“We should have been ahead at halftime, but we had two guys sin-binned and then they blew us away in the second half.

“By the time we had had a couple of weeks together under our belt, with good coaching and good strength and conditioning, we were super confident going in against France that we would acquit ourselves really well.

“Ultimately, we should have won by more.”

-Edited by Sheldon Chanel

Feedback:  oseab@fijisun.com.fj