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SAINT ETIENNE – Once upon a time the clock would strike 60 minutes and Fiji would begin to roll over. No longer.
That’s the opinion of Mick Byrne, a man who knows the Fijian landscape better than most and coached at six World Cups, who said the Wallabies would have to play for 80 minutes or risk a do-or-die fixture against Wales a week later in Lyon.
Indeed, it was as recently as the 2019 World Cup campaign that that comment rang true.
In their opening World Cup fixture, Fiji exploded out of the blocks as Peceli Yato scored inside the opening 10 minutes.
The back-rower’s early try and three Ben Volavola penalties saw the Flying Fijians take a 14-10 lead into half-time, before extending the margin to 21-10 after 45 minutes.
But, as so often the case, the Wallabies came back to seal a comfortable 39-21 win after some set-piece dominance helped the two-time world champions get back into the match.
The Wallabies managed to overrun Fiji at the Sapporo Dome in 2019, but Mick Byrne says the Island Nation are now properly conditioned. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Sitting in the Wallabies’ corner that afternoon in Sapporo was current Fiji Drua coach Mick Byrne as well as Flying Fijians coach Simon Raiwalui.
Having worked hard on improving the Drua’s fitness, Byrne says Fiji can finally play for 80 minutes and pointed to their gallant comeback against Wales last weekend, where they fell just short by losing 32-26, as proof they are no longer 60-minute walkovers.
“The Pacific Island players when we played against them for the last 20 years, you knew you were in for a fight but they just didn’t have 80 minutes in them,” Byrne said.
“When you’re with the All Blacks, your players are all in Super Rugby so you can keep an eye on their training and you can make sure they get fit.
“The Wallabies, while Cheik [Michael Cheika] and I were never happy with the fitness with all the Super Rugby teams at the time, we just knew we were a little bit fitter [than Fiji].
“But I think this Fijian side, the northern hemisphere guys have had a lot of experience, our Drua guys are fit, they can play 80 minutes and they showed that on the weekend.
After trailing 32-14 after 70 minutes, Fiji scored two tries in the final 10 minutes and could have had a third had Semi Radradra not dropped a pass out wide in what proved to be the final play of the game.
Their late surge saw Fiji finish with 61 per cent possession and 65 per cent territory, stats reflected by the 655 run metres they made compared to Wales’ 396.
But the 287 attempted tackles to Fiji’s 93 was another that revealed the running and possession threat that Fiji pose ahead of their second clash against the Wallabies.
Semi Radradra looks dejected as he is consoled by Simon Raiwalui following their dramatic loss to Wales at Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux on September 10, 2023. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
The numbers point to defence coach Brett Hodgson having his work cut out this weekend, especially after Georgia’s outside backs opened up the Wallabies on a number of occasions during their 35-15 first-up win in Paris.
“You can throw that pass out to Semi 100 times and I reckon he catches it 99 times,” Byrne said. “It’s just one of those moments in the history of the game where he unfortunately just didn’t hold the pass.
“He holds that pass, we all know he scores and then there’s a conversion to win the game. So that was past 80 minutes and the last five or six minutes, Fiji were coming hard.
“That last 5-10 minutes from the Fijian players wasn’t slow footy, that was fast. They were dynamic mate, and that’s in the 84th minute. So, what we know is they’re fit and they can play 80 minutes of footy. So, whoever beats them is going to have to do something special.
“Australia is going to have to be on in defence because this Fijian side is an 80-minute side with a lot of talent, hard running, and Australia, like Wales, are going to have make their tackles. That’s just the way it is.”
How Eddie Jones’ Wallabies plan on taking down Fiji remains to be seen.
According to Tate McDermott, Jones has attempted to free the Wallabies up in recent months since taking over.
Mick Byrne, Skills Coach of Australia looks on during an Australian Wallabies training session at Odawara Stadium on September 11, 2019 in Odawara, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
But whether the Wallabies to use the ball as much against a Flying Fijian side that thrives on chaos, loose ball and offloads is something that could play into their opponents hands.
Byrne, who acted as a consultant with the Wallabies in 1999 and worked alongside the All Blacks in three campaigns, including their triumphs in 2011 and 2015, said Jones’ side couldn’t simply shut up shop and attempt to beat Fiji at the set-piece.
“That’s got its own risks because if you were to say what’s Australia’s strengths? I don’t think Australia’s strength is 10-man rugby,” Byrne said.
“I think Australia’s strengths are getting the ball out to those young blokes; [Mark] Nawaqanitawase, Marika’s [Koroibete] not a young bloke, who knows how young he is, but he plays like a young bloke, [Ben] Donaldson played well, [Jordan] Petaia out there, there’s some good young talent floating around on the edges, so you want them touching the ball.
“You just need to hang on to the ball. If you toss up loose balls and you have you have loose carries, you’re asking for trouble against any Fijian team. Nothing’s changed in that area for 20 years. That’s nothing new.
“But I wouldn’t underestimate the set-piece of this Fijian team either. They’ve done a lot of work. Their set-piece has improved a hell of a lot over the last few years.”
Mick Byrne says Fiji are primed to give the Wallabies a proper shake. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
Byrne added that for the first time, Fiji wouldn’t have put their Australian rivals on a pedestal given their success against their neighbours in Super Rugby.
“The Australian and New Zealand teams always had an aura about them when Fiji played,” Byrne said.
“A lot of the players had grown up watching [Dan] Carter and when they played them in Test matches they were playing against players they had been idolising. But that’s not the case now.
“There’s 18 guys in that Flying Fijian team who have gone out and played them. They’ll respect them, but won’t just think they’re better because they’re Super Rugby players. They’ll feel a lot more confident and think they can compete against them.
“It’ll be a different mindset.
“It should be a great game of footy. Watching the Wallabies, they want to play footy and Fiji always want to play footy.”
So who is Byrne supporting?
“It’s a funny one, when you coach players there’s a real bond there. I look at the Wallabies and there’s a few players there that I’ve coached, but there’s not many. The new breed is there,” Byrne said.
“I look over at the flying Fijians and there’s 18 Drua players there and I know how bloody hard they’ve worked. It’s hard not to have an emotional attachment to them. You coach them and you really want to see them do well.
“Obviously going in against your home country, but I think where your allegiance is where you’re heart currently clear is. I’d say that I’d be pretty emotionally attached to a Fiji victory this weekend.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.