{"id":264726,"date":"2025-11-05T17:13:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T17:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/264726\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T17:13:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T17:13:07","slug":"fast-rising-fiji-carry-a-nations-pride-in-redemption-match-with-england-autumn-nations-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/264726\/","title":{"rendered":"Fast-rising Fiji carry a nation\u2019s pride in redemption match with England | Autumn Nations Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

True, they are the lowest-ranked team England will play in November, but it would be highly dangerous to underestimate Fiji. Coming between an opening victory against Australia<\/a> and a box-office encounter with the All Blacks, it might be easy to regard Saturday\u2019s Twickenham encounter as a relatively straightforward assignment. Easy, but foolish.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to go back far \u2013 two years or so, to an autumn afternoon in Marseille and England\u2019s 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final <\/a>\u2013 to remember how potent Fiji can be.<\/p>\n

Picture the scene: with 10 minutes to play at Stade V\u00e9lodrome, Vilimoni Botitu\u2019s attractive try has levelled the score at 24-24. An Owen Farrell drop goal edges Steve Borthwick\u2019s side back in front, before Ben Earl\u2019s frantic dash downfield sets up a penalty. Parisian bars are packed with French and South African supporters, warming up for their momentous Stade de France quarter-final by roaring the underdogs on.<\/p>\n

England ultimately scrape through with a six-point win. This all comes weeks after Fiji made history at Twickenham, beating England for the first time<\/a> in a pre-tournament warm-up game. That amounted to England\u2019s sixth loss in nine during the distinctly shaky beginning of Borthwick\u2019s reign. It was difficult then to imagine them progressing to a semi-final defeat by the Springboks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Things are different now. England are aiming for a ninth straight victory and are on an upward trajectory a month before the draw for Australia 2027 is made.<\/p>\n

In rugby-mad Fiji, memories of that narrow quarter-final loss remain fresh. \u201cRedemption\u201d was the back-page headline in Tuesday\u2019s Fiji Times: this is a chance to settle a score. Supporters in their hundreds of thousands are ready to rise early, or stay up all night, for kick-off at 5.40am local time on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot exaggerate how extraordinarily popular rugby union is in Fiji,\u201d says Mark Evans, chief executive of Fijian Drua, the country\u2019s Super Rugby side. \u201cYoung, old, male, female. iTaukei [ethnic Fijians], Indo-Fijian, every island, rich or poor \u2013 they do play other sports, but culturally rugby is incredibly important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quick GuideRees-Zammit ready for Wales comebackShow<\/p>\n

The Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit is fit for selection and will be considered against Argentina on Sunday. The 24-year-old has made a handful of appearances for the Bristol Bears since his return to rugby after two years in the US trying to break into the NFL. There had been questions around his fitness for Wales’s four-match programme this month.<\/p>\n

“Yes, he’s fit for selection,” the Wales assistant coach, Danny Wilson, said on Wednesday. “We are quite fortunate at the moment this squad is fit and healthy. The likes of him and some of the other names available give us a challenge to select the team.” Steve Tandy, the new head coach, will name the side on Friday with Rees-Zammit in the frame for the game at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. Reuters<\/p>\n

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In post since 2022, the former Saracens director of rugby and Harlequins chief executive is well placed to judge the health of the game in Fiji. \u201cAcross its various teams it has probably never been as consistently strong as it is at the moment,\u201d Evans says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe men\u2019s national team are ninth in the world, close to its highest-ever position. Apart from Portugal at the World Cup, they haven\u2019t lost to a team below them since 2022. And this is a team that hardly ever plays at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The launch of Fijian Drua<\/a> in 2017 has widened the talent pool and improved many of the players who will run out at Twickenham. Fiji\u2019s world-ranking points (81.16) put them comfortably ahead of 10th-placed Italy (77.7) but close to Scotland in eighth (81.57) and Australia in seventh (82.90).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a fair amount of depth because of the Drua \u2013 you\u2019ve got 40-odd full-timers playing 15-a-side at a pretty high level,\u201d says Evans. \u201cPlus all the European-based players. The rankings don\u2019t lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mick Byrne, the head coach who led them to a triumph against Wales <\/a>in Cardiff last November, has expounded a straightforward approach for Saturday. \u201cWe just want to be physical,\u201d Byrne told the Fiji Times. \u201cTake it to them. Just get on the front foot and go after the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Most recently Byrne oversaw a thrilling 33-27 Pacific Nations Cup final win against Japan in September in Salt Lake City, securing back-to-back titles. After Twickenham they will head across the Channel to meet France in Bordeaux on 15 November.<\/p>\n

In Evans\u2019 opinion who should England fans look out for on Saturday? \u201cJiuta Wainiqolo is, if not the best wing in the world, damn close,\u201d he says of the 26-year-old Toulon back. \u201cHe\u2019s had a wonderful last 18 months. Josua Tuisova [Racing 92] is still a handful at inside-centre. \u2018The Bus\u2019 is quite an extraordinary rugby player.<\/p>\n

Levani Botia clashes with England\u2019s Tom Curry during the 2023 World Cup quarter-final. Photograph: Nicolas Tucat\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cFor more of a bolter, there\u2019s Elia Canakaivata from the Drua, who might play No 7. He can play No 8 or No 6. He has had a breakout year and is a hell of a ball carrier.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is sure to be physical. This week, Earl described the punishing nature of that Marseille meeting. \u201cWhenever anyone says: \u2018What is the biggest hit you have witnessed?\u2019 \u2013 it was Tom Curry on Levani Botia,\u201c Earl said. \u201cThe noise that made I was like: \u2018Oh my God\u2019. It is very rare you think that on the pitch. That is what it takes playing these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

However it plays out, Fiji\u2019s future looks bright. \u201cThey are nowhere near the ceiling,\u201d Evans says. \u201cThere\u2019s a pile of work to do on facilities, physical treatment, coaching, pathways, etc. It\u2019s by no means the finished product.\u201d<\/p>\n

But rest assured, they will be ready for England on Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"True, they are the lowest-ranked team England will play in November, but it would be highly dangerous to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264727,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-264726","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}