The World's Best Combined

The Barbarians have assembled!

Yes, the most exciting rugby team in the entire world has been called to arms for Test matches against England, Wales and Ireland. The Baa-baas have always been renowned for their no-frills rugby and for spreading the ball wide at any given opportunity. They call on players from the top rugby playing nations to form a formidable side who then challenge pre-determined opponents. The most notable aspects of Barbarians rugby are that the coach has to select a player who still plays rugby as an amateur and that all players must wear the socks of their club teams.

JPR Williams in the 1970 team

The 2012 squad is being coached by New Zealand rugby great, John Kirwan who is well known in rugby circle especially for a sublime 90 metre dash and score against Argentina in the 1987 Rugby World Cup. Their first match is against England on Sunday 27 May at rugbys spiritual home, Twickenham. England will not be taking this match lightly as the Baa-baas team is laced with classy athletes who are renowned for either their rock-solid defence or their mesmerising attack. Pacy English fullback Ben Foden ponders his sides gameplan:

  

When you play the Barbarians, you find yourselves being pulled into their style of rugby, It's hard not to get swept up in it and that's when mistakes happen. We need to control the tempo of the game, to play in the right areas.

Seru Rabeni

 The Baa-baas was first put together in 1948 when a Test match was organised against a touring Australia XV. The invitational side won that match and ever since, macthes have been organised every year. Many Fijians have represented the side, like Waisale Serevi, Rupeni Caucaunibuca and Seru Rabeni. The only match between the Barbarians and a Fiji national XV was in 1970 which the Fijians won 29-9 (using the old scoring format).

Sunday's match-up against the Red Roses of England will be a platform from which the Home Nations can attempt to launch their campaign for the IRB June Tests against the Southern Hemisphere nations. Isa Nacewa and Akapusi Qera are the only Fijians in the2012 Baa-baas and Qera has made it into the matchday 22 to face England.

Team Lineups

England: B Foden; C Ashton (both Northampton), B Barritt, O Farrell (both Saracens), C Wade (Wasps); C Hodgson (Saracens), L Dickson (Northampton); M Stevens (Saracens), D Hartley, P Doran-Jones (both Northampton), M Botha (Saracens), T Palmer (Stade Français), T Johnson (Exeter), C Fearns (Bath), P Dowson (capt; Northampton). Replacements: L Mears (Bath), M Mullan (Worcester), J Launchbury (Wasps), J Gibson (London Irish), R Wigglesworth (Saracens), J Joseph (London Irish), A Goode (Saracens)

Barbarians: M Muliaina (New Zealand); P Sackey (England), C Laulala (New Zealand), M Tindall, I Balshaw (both England); S Donald (New Zealand), R Lawson (Scotland); N Tialata (New Zealand), J Smit (capt; South Africa), J Afoa (New Zealand), M Chisholm (Australia), A van Zyl (Stade Français), EJoubert (Saracens), A Qera (Fiji), J Beattie (Scotland). Replacements: B August (France), D Jones (Wales), P Taele (Samoa), R Lakafia (France), J Fillol (Stade Français), F Contepomi (Argentina), S Tagicakibau (Samoa).

Sonny Bill Williams in Barbarians colours

Every Rose Has It's 'Thorn'

Old is Gold: Thorn with the Heineken Cup

 Two days ago, Ireland’s Leinster won the Heineken Cup for the second year running. They put countrymen Ulster to the sword at Twickenham, winning 42-14. Former Fiji international, Isa Nacewa was on the wing for the champs and according to reports, played a grand game. Quite a number of Irish household names like Brian O’Driscoll, Paddy Jackson and Jonathan Sexton played their part in the on-sided final.  However, the subject of this post is not Nacewa but of his team-mate in the forwards, one Bradley Carnegie Thorn. When the final whistle blew for full-time on Saturday, Thorn had become theonly person to win the multiple titles on both hemispheres i.e. the World Cup, Super Rugby, Tri Nations and the Heineken Cup. He will also have a chance to put the Rabo Pro 12 title next to that impressive list, next Sunday.

A young Thorn charges for the Broncos

The amazing thing about Thorn is not that he plays lock so or that he tackles opponents like his life depends on it. It’s that he is 37 years of age this year. Thirty-seven years young! Wow! This writer only hopes to be alive at 37, let alone win multiple championship on either hemisphere. There are many on Earth who go on about their lives content with where Life has placed them and never seem to care when they fade away from existence. The man himself explains what it means for him, at this age;

Most of all I love the camaraderie. As a six-year-old I used to get nervous before a game playing with my mates. Now, as a 37-year-old I still get nervous before a game with my mates. It’s so special. It’s not so much about what’s going to happen next. It’s just about enjoying today and only the Lord knows what will happen in the future. We shall see how it works out. Physically I have always been lucky. I feel pretty good. Mentally, that is the last thing I am thinking about.

Clearly, Thorn is still enjoying his rugby and kudos to him. And to think that he was not even supposed to be in Ireland. After winning the Rugby World Cup with New Zealand, Thorn signed a contract with Japan’s Fukuoka Sanix Blues. But a door opened up when Leinster signed him up as a medical joker for the second half of the season. Perhaps this will open up a door for other past-the-mill players who still have the passion and the fitness to keep pace with the young 'uns out there. There are still a number of over-30s who still ply their rugby trade at elite clubs and continue to represent their countries like the evergreen Radike Samo (35) for Australia and Jean de Villiers (31) for South Africa. There are also those in the Northern Hemisphere like Tom Palmer (33) for England, Ronan O' Gara (35) for Ireland and Wales' Ryan Jones (31).

At the Rugby World Cup 2011

Rugby is a contact sport and the wear and tear of the game can really grind a man (or woman) down to the bone. So it takes a truly committed individual to make it to the summit and stay there. Brad Thorn may not be in the annals of the sport for having amassed a record  number of points or for crossing the white-wash numerous times, but he will definately be considered for an IRB Hall of Fame spot for his distinguished service to rugby.


Rugby is definately the winner at the end of the day for having had Thorn grace the various paddocks around the world, doing what he does best, crushing opponents and laying the smack down. And when he does retire for all manner of rugby, his numerous oppenents from all over the world will breathe a collective sigh of relief. That is until another legend steps up and take his place.


There it is. I said it. Brad Thorn = Legend. That is all.

Doing the damage for the Crusaders

So Close Yet So Far

 
They came so close. Oh ever so close. In fact there were only six points separating the two teams. I'm talking of course, about the sevens teams of New Zealand and my country, Fiji. It also shows that it is indeed possible to have two winners in a sporting event.

Tournament winners - Fiji

New Zealand won the series that spanned nine countries and five continents. They amassed 167 points from the nine tournaments and their star halfback, Tomasi Cama, scooped the International Rugby Board's Sevens Player of the Year Award. Their mastermind of a coach, Gordon Tietjens, was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame for his services to the abbreviated rugby code.

My countrymen are ruing the missed opportunities in the penultimate tournament that was hosted by Glasgow in Scotland. They were playing so well until they came up against a very determined England side in the Cup quarterfinals. They needed to at least reach the Cup final in order to keep the pressure on New Zealand leading up to the final tournament in London, England. Fiji lost that match 21-26.

Sevens Series winners - NZ

Coming into the London edition of the sevens series, New Zealand skipper D.J. Forbes recognised their need to push on with the intensity:

It's pretty special, we worked extremely hard to get this one and I think everyone knows how competitive the Sevens Series is now. We came here with an 11-point lead but still with an opportunity of blowing it.The quarter-final win was probably our only complete game of rugby this weekend, but there was a lot of passion, a lot behind it to make sure we wrapped up the series.

And win they did. After wrapping up the Series by winning the quarterfinal match comprehensively against South Africa, they met their match against Fiji. The Islanders would go on to meet Pacific neighbours, Samoa in a hard-fought final in which Fiji prevailed. However, by then, the writing was on the wall and New Zealand had scooped the Series title for only the 10th time in the 12 years of the HSBC Sevens World Series. No mean feat, I can assure you.

Had the Fijians reached the final in Glasgow, they would have stood a real good chance of dethroning the champions of sevens. However, kudos to the Fijians for ending strongly and this is a squad, that if kept together over the next four years or so, could be the squad to represent the country at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Rugby is returning to the menu then and the Fijians will be lokking forward to developing this squad in order to stand a chance of winning an Olympic medal, regardless of the colour.

No doubt, Tietjens has his sights set on Rio 2016 too and has already put into place his plans of conquering that summit. In my opinion, only Fiji stand a solid chance of spoiling that dream of his and relegating the Kiwis to the silver medal. Gold can be ours if we believe and work together.

Bring it on!

Nothing like beating the Poms at home

Fijians are rugby mad.

Rugby commentators usually prattle on about sevens rugby is the national sport of Fiji. However this writer begs to differ. Let it be known that RUGBY is the national sport of Fiji. It may be because Fiji once excelled in the abbreviated code, that the stereotype of only ‘being good sevens players’ has stuck.

Matavesi trains in Murrayfield ahead of his debut.

Not just the native iTaukeis, but people from every walk of life stop what they’re doing when a team of grunts don that white jersey for a bit of egg chasing. They get so invested in the matches, the fallout is a given should Fiji lose. Stories abound of people who have had fatal coronaries while watching and there have been instances of television screens attempting to fly, as they exit the home via the nearest window. The Fiji public is a made up of bad losers and it requires thick skin to coach or represent the country.

Josh Matavesi, a utility back for the Fiji National XV side, recently signed with the Worcestor Warrirors in England from Racing Metro in France. He can play any position in the backline but is more comfortable in the 10 and 15 jersey. Born to an English mother and a Fijian father, Josh has the makings of a rugby great. With Islander rugby instincts and a good rugby mind, he made the England Under-20 team for the 2009 Six Nations Under-20 tournament.

After that tournament, he played for the Fiji team during the Autumn Internationals against Scotland, Ireland and Romania. In his first start, Josh scored 9 points as Fiji beat Romania 29-18. The Warriors have signed on a player with a big future ahead and it makes perfect sense for them to invest in him.

"Josh is a player we've been watching closely and he excites us with the way he plays," Hill said. "We already have some players within our squad who know him well from his Exeter days and Cornish connections.”

The future of Fiji rugby - Josh Matavesi

Richard Hill, Worcestor coach readily admits that he is excitred about the prospect of having Josh carve up defences next season.

Ruggers in Fiji have different mentalities. You have your crash-ball exponents who love nothing better than to hit a gap at top peddle and there are bulky steamrollers who would rather run over opponents. Then you have twinkle-toed fairies (usually wingers) who prefer to weave their way through traffic and there are tenacious madmen who hit rucks at breakneck speeds that make a spectator cringe at the impact. But, there is one factor that is common in most Fiji ruggers. Speed. Combine that with the genetic build of the average Fiji Islander and that makes him naturally suited for the sport. Throw him into a match and he can fit into any position, bar the front row.

Josh is the future for Fiji Rugby and the FRU know that they must do all they can to keep him within their sights.

The Fiji National XV side struggled to make significant inroads on the global scene and it seemed that would always be the case. Most Fiji sides get stuck in the first quarter of a match. Then they begin to unravel after that. You can almost set your watch to it because it seemed to be the norm. If 15s rugby was only 10 minutes a half, Fiji would be up there in the rankings. That is why Fijians love and shine in sevens rugby. Seven minutes a half, fourteen in total and that is enough time to tackle, score, run, fend, and ruck at an optimum level without a drop in intensity.

There is a shortage of international rugby in the ‘Land of Smiles’. The only regular visitors to the shores are neighbors Tonga and Samoa. Other than that, touring teams are a hard thing to come by. Such is the hunger for rugby, that when even a NZ Divisional XV toured Fiji in the early 2000s, the National Stadium would be full of oval-ball lovers hoping to be entertained with good rugby.

This writer remembers fondly visits by Scotland, Italy, NZ Maoris, and Australia A but such tours have since dried up. Whatever Tests that have been handed down by IRB have been mostly away games for Fiji and the rugby public misses out.

Fiji will host Scotland in Lautoka, in June for their only home match of 2012. Undoubtedly the match will be well attended by the numerous rugby fanatics who reside in the islands.
Hopefully Josh Matavesi makes it into the side so he can continue to develop to be the world-class rugby player that we all know he can be.

Matavesi attacks for the Fiji Under-20 team