Fijians drove and flew from all over the US to watch the national team in San Diego.
From Seattle, Utah, San Francisco, New York…and even from neighbouring countries Mexico from the south and Canada from the north. A good number of die-hards made their way from Fiji, taking the Fiji Airways flight to LA. Some travellers were so well-planned and well organised that they were on their way to watch the Fiji vs All Blacks test in San Diego then fly onto Paris to watch the Fiji 7s team defend the gold medal at the Olympics. They were full of spirit and passion.
“We are here to cheer for Fiji, Go Fiji Go!”
The test match was brought to San Diego for commercial and promotional motivations. To sell the game and the rugby brand to Americans, who will host the Rugby World Cup in 2031.
At a glance, it was a huge commercial success. For the All Blacks. As we write this, we haven’t established how much Fiji would get for their participation in all these, but we have sent questions to the Fiji Rugby Union.
The 33,217 almost sold-out crowds who paid over $140-USD 200 per ticket ensured $4-USD 6 million in gate takings alone ($9-13 million FJD). The thunderous flyover of two US fighter jets, sensational fireworks and fierce pre-match war dance with the Fijians performing the ‘Cibi’ and the All Blacks performing the ‘Haka” thrilled the crowd. The game was billed as “two of the biggest drawcards in World Rugby” facing each other,” but on the field, the Fijians failed to impress, and it often resembled an exhibition rather than a test match. The final score was 47-5 with NZ media reporting that the Fijians made a staggering 53 missed tackles.
“There were two much softies,” a NZ journalist told Fijian media at the post-match conference.
Our scrum was dominated, our lineouts shaky and every mistake we made, the All Blacks ruthlessly punished. Our flyhalf tried to run the ball out instead of clearing from the 22, the All Blacks score, our hooker not throwing straight into the lineout, the All Blacks score, our halfback not feeding correctly into the scrum, the All Blacks scored, we miss tackles, the All Blacks score. They scored 7 tries. The weak set pieces and defence were a huge issue even after coach Mick Byrne said before the match that this was what they were working to improve.
“Physicality will be a key aspect of our game plan. We have worked hard to sharpen our set pieces and improve our defensive structure,” Byrne had said.
Even with 6 new players, the All Blacks easily showed once again the huge gap that exists between them and Fiji.
Fiji did show glimpses of what they are capable of, and there were patches and phases where they stretched the All Blacks and physically took them on.
“We knew we were in for a tough night, playing one of the best teams in the world. We went out there and did everything we could to get on the front foot, and for the first 20-25 minutes it was a great battle,” Byrne said at the post-match press conference.
So after flying to London, then to Georgia, then flying to Los Angeles via Turkey, then on to San Diego in 10 days, where do the Flying Fijians fly from here?
The team now disperses to around 8-9 different countries before Byrne reassembles a team for the Pacific Nations Cup which begins August 23.
“We took great learnings out, having only been together for a very short period,” said Byrne.
How the Fijians build from here will set a platform for how high they will fly into the future.
Op-Ed by @stanley-simpson
