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Fiji add firepower to their line up for Samoa clash

Vereniki Goneva

Harlequins new signings Vereniki Goneva and Tevita Cavubati have been drafted into the Fiji team to face Samoa in Suva on Saturday as head coach John McKee searches for his most powerful line up for the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

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Goneva, 35-years-old, is back from injury to make his first appearance in the Pacific Nations Cup where Fiji are the defending champions and McKee is banking on the wing’s experience to help the team quickly deliver the kind of performance to prove they could be a major threat to World Cup pool opponents Australia and Wales.

McKee has picked Cavubati alongside Leone Nakarawa at lock while the promising Setareki Tuicuvu, who helped defeat France in Paris last November, is at full back to face a Samoa team missing captain Piula Fa’asalele who broke his wrist against the USA and could be out for up to six weeks. McKee said: “We all know what a great player he (Goneva) is and a leader on and off the field. Tuicuvu is a young player on the way up and has had some really good match time with his season in Clermont.

“They had a few unfortunate injuries which restricted their game time. But credit to them they have worked very hard during their rehabilitation. They’re in top-notch in their fitness conditions and are really looking forward to the game.”

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Fiji will feature a solid front-row led by hooker Sam Matavesi and props Campese Ma’afu and Peni Ravai and an outstanding back row trio of captain Dominiko Waqaniburotu, Semi Kunatani and No8 Viliame Mata. Half-Back Frank Lomani and Fly-half Ben Volavola start after missing the win over Canada and there is a new mid-field pairing of Levani Botia and Semi Radradra.

“We are looking at a few positions ahead of the Rugby World Cup, giving the players the opportunity to get some game time before the squad is announced,” added McKee. “We are looking at our combinations within the team and are getting them to play together so that they get the combinations together.”

Fiji Airways Flying Fijians match-day 23

1. Campese Ma’afu

2. Sam Matavesi

3. Peni Ravai

4. Tevita Cavubati

5. Leone Nakarawa

6. Dominiko Waqaniburotu

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7. Semi Kunatani

8. Viliame Mata

9. Frank Lomani

10. Ben Volavola

11. Patrick Osbourne

12. Levani Botia

13. Semi Radradra

14. Vereniki Goneva

15. Setareki Tuicuvu

Reserves

16. Mesulame Dolokoto

17. Eroni Mawi

18. Kalivati Tawake

19. Tevita Ratuva

20. Peceli Yato

21. Nikola Matawalu

22. Josh Matavesi

23. Kini Murimurivalu

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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