FIJI face Ireland this weekend on their Northern Tour under new coach Jake White. ALIPATE PARETI reviews Fiji’s match against France last week and looks ahead to the test in Dublin.
France outmuscled Fiji in front of a packed Groupama Stadium in Lyon. France won 54 – 17 in emphatic fashion with eight tries and six conversions.
Fiji competed well in the first 15 minutes before the French machine completely took over the game.
Ultimately it was the excellent French defence that won the game for the hosts.
The battle in the scrums was fair. Eroni Mawi, Tevita Ikanivere and Luke Tagi packed down hard against front row; Jean-Baptiste Gros, Maxime Lamothe and Sipili Falatea to get things going for the engine room.
This gave some room for the Fijian backline to try out some of their attacking set plays.
However, France started to tighten up their defense.
The chop tackles were their best weapon against the big Fijian ball carriers.
Each time Luke Tagi tried to bulldoze his way through around the fringes of the rucks, it was Jean-Baptiste Gros and second rower Paul Boudehent who chopped him down.
Then when Fiji spread the ball wide, openside flanker Cameron Woki was there to make the tackles count for France.
Fiji’s defense was as good as the French. Every time France had possession they crossed the advantage line.
Vinaya Habosi did his best in the midfield but defensively he was lacking the intensity that Josua Tuisova usually applies at inside center. To be fair it was Habosi’s first time as an inside center.
Then the driving maul from good lineout throws was the way forward for France.
The Fijians were forced to backpaddle and Mesake Vocevoce was sent off for 10 minutes for collapsing a driving maul. Fiji looked very light against the heavy French forwards and they did not coordinate well to counter the maul.
Fiji had some success in the lineout aerial battles. It would have worked in their favor if they had chosen to contest the lineouts and prevent the French from forming the mauls.
France half-back, Antoine Dupont showed his vast experience to dictate the pace of the game. Fiji had no answer for Dupont’s masterclass tricks and skills. His deliveries from the base of the rucks were swift and he ushered their forwards in which direction to drive their mauls. And whenever the Fijians defenders were complacent in defense, Dupont darted his way through the gaps as France went on the attack.
Fiji’s backline was not clicking. They had the likes of Vinaya Habosi, Iosefo Masi and Jiuta Wainiqolo but they were not able to penetrate the strong French defense. Most times the midfielders were too flat when they received the passes from Vilimoni Botitu. They also lacked creativity and good communication especially when the brilliant French defenders were right in their faces to cut out the spaces for them to move. Yoram Moefana and Kalvin Gourgues provided the big hits in the midfield for France.
Overall, the backline combination that new coach Jake White gambled with for this game did not seem to have chemistry and cohesion.
Simione Kuruvoli slotted in a penalty goal for Fiji. At halftime, France led 26 – 3.
Ben Volavola was subbed in for Botitu at Fly Half while Frank Lomani replaced Kuruvoli at half-back, but they made very little impact as the gruesome French defence forced Fiji to kick away most of their possession.
Fiji managed to score two tries by Habosi and Salestino Ravutaumada in the second half but the margin was too far ahead to catch up to.
Nathan Hughes had a great debut for Fiji. With some much energy, the big number eight was a formidable force and made some quality solid carries. His post-match statistics were impressive with seven defenders beaten and carried hard for 39 meters. RugbyPass analysts gave him a seven out of 10 rating for his physicality and composure in contact.
The 35-year-old is the nephew of former Fiji reps, Asaeli and Peter Hughes. He played rugby for Saint Thomas High School in Lautoka before he earned a scholarship to Kelston Boys High in New Zealand. In 2013, Nathan signed with the London Wasps. It was in the English Rugby Premiership where he flourished and was selected to represent England national XV’s team in 2016. He earned 22 caps for England.
Openside flanker, Kitione Salawa contested for possession in every ruck he entered. He stole a couple of good turnovers for Fiji. Flanker Peceli Yato elevated the Fijian defense with some ferocious tackles when he came in. The last time Fiji had beaten France was back in 2018 in Paris. Semi Radradra and Josua Tuisova were unstoppable and Fiji were fired up for the collision that day. But they lacked so much intensity this time around and were completely overwhelmed by the French onslaught.
The biggest positive take away from this game would be the scrums. The Fijian forwards competed well during scrum time especially against the heavy forward pack for France. Fiji will need to maintain their strength in the scrums and perhaps heighten the intensity in their defense in order to compete well against their next opponents Ireland, who are coming off a big win against Argentina. The Irish forwards are also known for their physicality and successful driving mauls.
The last time Fiji played Ireland in Dublin was in 2024, where Ireland demolished Fiji 52 – 17. It is still early days for Jake White as he works out the right combination for his team against some of the best teams in the world.
