Flying Fijians end Northern Hemisphere tour on high despite Covid-19 challenges

The Fiji men's rugby team are buoyed about the future after ending a challenging Northern Hemisphere tour on a winning note.

The Flying Fijians ended a difficult six week tour with a commanding 38-24 victory over Georgia in Edinburgh, with eight players making their test debut and returning veteran Nemani Nadolo bagging a hat-trick in what proved to be their only match of the tournament following a Covid-19 outbreak within the squad.

Fiji Rugby CEO John O'Connor said it was just reward after a trying period for the players, who spent two week in isolation in their hotel rooms while tests against Portugal, France, Italy and Scotland were called off.

"We are a community-based society," he said.

"The boys having to stay in isolation in quarantine would have been challenging but I think from the difficulty and the challenge the team bonded and came together nicely.

"It was also a good opportunity, talking to the coach, to see the character of the players and it showed in their performance... with limited training and competition we were quite proud of the way the boys went out there and expressed themselves, considering it's a very young team, first time they're playing together, first time under a new coach and management staff it's pleasing to end the tour and the difficulties we went through with such a performance."

It was a particularly poignant occasion for Flying Fijians flanker Mesulame Kunavula, who scored a try on his test debut at his club side Edinburgh's home ground.

The 25-year-old's mother died last month while he was still in isolation, after the cancellation of Fiji's Nations Cup opener against France.

"Our sevens players, the management and the coaches here, represented the [Fiji Rugby] Union and we're so glad that in the village attending the funeral mass to join the team with other players from the UK through Zoom and all this to farewell his mum.

"[There have been] huge challenges and huge sacrifices by the players and I think the expression that came out in the game against Georgia we are so proud of them going through the ordeal."

Despite being forced to forfeit their three Nations Cup group matches, O'Connor said Fiji's participation in the eight-team tournament was still worth it.

"It's been a learning experience," he said, reflecting on the three months since the tournament was confirmed.

"We were confident, because most of our players played in Europe, that they would be used to the environment. We had planned to go early so that we can stay in the bubble and have an active bubble but some of our players had to be released, the timing of players joining camp was important.

"Although we had all negative tests before we left our pre-camp hotel the team had travelled by bus and stopped on the way but it's been a learning experience... we are so fortunate that we come from an environment which is Covid-19 contained and I think the appetite to live with Covid-19 is different to what we go through in Fiji."

Discussions are already underway about Fiji returning to Europe at the end of next year, while O'Connor said he was also hopeful some of the Six Nations countries might travel to play in the Pacific in the middle of next year.

"Even though we've gone through challenges our participation has created a lot of positives in terms of Fiji Rugby Union and our relationship with the Six Nations who are part of the Autumn Nations Cup," he said.

"I've never had a personal relationship with the CEOs of the Six Nations but this experience has brought us close and we sort of created an environment where we respect and trust each other."

Homeward Bound

After a challenging six weeks abroad, O'Connor said the goal now is to get the Fijian players back home in time to spend Christmas with their families.

The European based players, including Lyon flyer Josua Tuisova and Bristol Bears star Semi Radradra, will return to their club sides while the Fiji, New Zealand and Australia-based players are scheduled to fly out of London on Tuesday, provided they get the all clear from their final Covid-19 test.

"Hopefully they come out of quarantine on the 24th then they spend time with their families for Christmas," he said.

"It's been an ordeal and we just want to thank all Fijians around the globe for their support and prayers. Although we couldn't give you three other matches [in the Nations Cup] I think the match against Georgia signified we would have been competitive if we were able to compete and that was the intention of our participation."

O'Connor said they now had a fair idea of how the coronavirus managed to infiltrate the Fijian camp but the investigation is ongoing.

"In our discussions with the management team, the priority [at the time] was the safety and the wellbeing of the players," he said.

"They wanted the players to recover and at least have a game and now that we've achieved that our next priority is to get the players home safely to their clubs, safe to their homes and then we will start to ask for reports from individuals."

While Covid-19 derailed the bulk of the Flying Fijians' 2020 schedule, planning is already well underway for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with the draw for the pool stage to be made on 14 December in Paris.

Eleven months on from his original appointment, head coach Vern Cotter is yet to visit Fijian shores but O'Connor said the New Zealand mentor had done them proud and now has something to build on for the future.

"Vern has in the time they were in isolation ... managed to see the character of the players, their attitude and so forth, so for him understanding the players and knowing what players can go through, who are subjected, who work better in such environments when we face a challenge and I think the team has come together as one, which was shown on the pitch against Georgia."