Rugby World Cup 2023: Fiji rise above Wallabies in rankings on the back of fitness torture sessions
Fiji loom as a genuine World Cup’s threat, having soared up the world rankings. A torturous fitness regime, and reconnecting with “our people” has them ready to make their mark.
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As his exhausted players fought to regain their breath, searched for strength in their legs, coach Simon Raiwalui stood at the top of the hill and then saw something that made him cry.
“We went to the sand hills in Sigatoka, we trained bloody hard, it was a tough day,” Raiwalui said.
The Fijian coach had put his players through the torturous routine of bounding up the unforgiving climb that seems to touch the sky. This was their third session of the day.
“And then to finish the session, on their call, they decided to do one more rep up the hill. They joined at the shoulders singing Vanua Domoni (Beautiful Land),” Raiwalui said.
“When you see that, it brings a tear to your eye.
End of a great week, couldn’t be prouder of the boys…🇫🇯🇫🇯🇫🇯 #FIJIWaterFlyingFijians@FIJIWater@fijirugbypic.twitter.com/HGkAHbtXIO
— Simon Raiwalui (@SimonRaiwalui) July 14, 2023
“When you’ve got a team that is player driven, working for each other, pulling each other up — you’re only as strong as your weakest, and our boys are so tight as a group.
“When you see that as a coach, you step back and say, ‘Wow, I’m proud.’”
That effort is the backbone of Fiji’s ominous World Cup campaign.
In a week where the NRL Bulldogs club has been plagued by claims that players are being overtrained, Raiwalui’s revelation about Fiji’s preparations lays bare the importance of communication and purpose.
“We pushed them really hard, sometimes we were doing four-a-day training sessions, we wanted to push them and see where they could end up,” he said.
“There’s been investment right from the beginning, there’s been no complaints. The progressions they’ve made over the eight weeks has been huge in both physical appearance and what they’re doing.
“They’ve got the benefit of greater capacity, and being able to play at a higher level for a longer period of time. We’re far from the finished product, but the goal was to get better each week and that’s what we strive for.
“When you’re building a campaign, it’s about sharing it from the start, why are we doing it, and who are we doing it for – from the start we told the boys ‘This is what we’re doing’ for this week.
“All the S&C staff have been great, they’ve helped build the plan, the players have invested in it. Once you get that buy-in, it starts to move along.
“It’s paramount as a coach to see it evolving, when you have good people and you treat people right, nine times out of 10 you get some good results.”
From the head coach resigning in February, to the resignation of Fiji Rugby’s entire board of directors in May that prompted World Rugby intervention into their operations, the team somehow enters the tournament in France as the highest ranked in their pool – ahead of Australia and Wales.
Raiwalui was Fiji’s high performance manager when Vern Cotter suddenly resigned in February, seven months before the World Cup.
It should have spelled disaster.
“In the end, it was a short-term opportunity to take the guys to the World Cup,” said Raiwalui, the former Wallabies assistant coach under Michael Cheika.
“Obviously I’ve got a huge affinity for Fiji rugby, I played for them, captained them, did the GM role and was helping build the program for the World Cup from a logistical side and high performance side.
“I wanted to make sure we get there in good condition and give the team the best possible chance to perform at their best.”
And so he took the group in a new – but old – direction. To the remote village of Welagi, in the Taveuni Island east of Vanua Levu.
“The biggest thing I wanted to bring, what I thought I could bring that was different, was a reconnection to who we were, getting back to our base,” Raiwalui said.
“We’d stayed at the flash hotels and trained in good facilities, I decided we’d take them back to the village environment and reconnect with our people.
“Our boys reconnected with where they started, not specifically their own village but how they grew up, why they love rugby, who helped them get there.
“It was great to get back to that. We’re a team that comes from all different parts of the world, we’ve obviously got the Drua, but to bring all the players together and into a village where we’re sleeping in a hole, mattresses one metre apart, eating together, communicating again, it really broke down the barriers and made a really good connection.
“The groups that play together in Europe, or for Drua, were close, but now we’re the Fiji Water Flying Fijians, one group, very tight.
“We had a field out the front of the hall, a makeshift gym.
“It wasn’t meant to be perfection, things pop up, sometimes the field would be a bit hard. Village life is making the best of what you have, working for each other.
“When you’re in the village environment you’re a family, and you work for the betterment of your family and the village.
“We went to Semi Radradra’s village to visit and say ‘thank you’, went to Iosefo Masi’s village, Selestino Ravutaumada’s village, it was a great opportunity to give thanks and I wanted to be seen by the people, we’re asking them to support us and invest in, so we should be out there supporting and investing in them.
“So that was a great experience, the big thing for me was the culture.”
Now, Fiji is ranked seventh in the world, the highest ranking for any tier-two nation in the history of World Rugby.
They’ve won four of five lead-up games to the World Cup, including the historic 30-22 victory over England on August 27.
In contrast, Pool C World Cup rivals the Wallabies have lost all five games in 2023 and are ranked ninth in the world, while Wales is 10th.
“The target, right from the beginning, is the 10th of September, Wales in Bordeaux, we want to put in a performance there that hopefully sets us up for the rest of the tournament,” Raiwalui said.
Attack won’t be an issue.
“On the performance side we really wanted to target what we’ve traditionally been weak at; we wanted to be as fit as we could be, we wanted to improve our discipline,” he said.
“Traditionally we’ve had a terrible record in terms of discipline. That was a real focus for us, and enjoy how we play, the Flying Fijians.”
Beating England was just the start.
“We wanted to go out and create history,” Raiwalui said.
“It wasn’t idle talk. They’d earned the right to go out there and have that opportunity to do something that had never been done, and they executed at Twickenham, one of the biggest rugby stadiums in the world, against England, who’ve always been ranked near the top.
“It was a very humbling and proud moment for myself and the staff, but credit to the players, without their belief and commitment nothing is possible.”
Fiji no longer flies under the radar.
Still, they’re millions of dollars short in facilities and hundreds of thousands short in the player pool compared to their more fancied Cup rivals.
There’s a huge mountain to climb in France. They’ll join arms and walk it together.
“We’ve got some of the best fans in the world,” Raiwalui said.
“And I think a lot of people say Fiji is their second favourite team because they train and play with a beautiful spirit, always with a smile, and live life the way it should be.”
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