Editorial: Let’s keep the faith in supporting our Flying Fijians’ RWC campaign

By 9am today, we should know if the Flying Fijians make the Rugby World Cup (RWC) quarter-finals, or not.

The Waisea Nayacalevu-captained side takes on Portugal in their final Pool C decider at the Stade de Toulouse, France, at 7am.

The Fijians need only one point to qualify ahead of the Australian Wallabies from Pool C. Even if they lose on a bonus point, that should be enough to make the quarter-finals.

The Flying Fijians will be breaking a 16-year-old jinx if they do reach the quarters. It will be the third time for them to do it.

They first did it in 1987 and the last was in 2007 after beating Wales 38-34 at the Stade de la Beaujoire, France, in their final pool match.

Flying Fijians head coach Simon Raiwalui said the Portugal game was their immediate focus and it was not on who they would play in the quarterfinal.

The no-nonsense coach reiterated the importance of respecting all teams despite their position in the rugby world.

It’s all about staying grounded, doing all the hard work in the background while the result will take care of itself.

We all want our Flying Fijians to win and make the RWC quarter-finals. If they do, then it will kick-start our Fiji Day celebration, where we commemorate our 53rd year of independence.

Our players know the importance of what is at stake.

They, along with the coaches and management, have worked hard over the past two months, stayed away from their loved ones and even made countless hours of sacrifice to be at their best at the RWC.

These people deserve our support despite whatever outcome at the end of the day.

However, as of now let’s keep our faith on them to produce the desired result that we’ve all been waiting for.

Feedback: leonec@fijisun.com.fj