Niko Matawalu might play for Glasgow Warriors but there won’t be any kind of divided loyalties at Murrayfield on Saturday when Fiji face Scotland.
His own international cap count may have stalled on 33 after he played his last Test two years ago, against Ireland in Dublin. However, the Glasgow back will never stop supporting his fellow islanders.
“Obviously I’m going to back and cheer for Fiji," says Matawalu, who reckons the Murrayfield crowd could be treated to a cracking contest, and one the Fijians will be taking very seriously indeed.
“I think it’s going to be a quick game, both teams playing with a high tempo, and whoever is the fittest to play that for 80 minutes will win the match.
“This is a strong Fiji squad. When the coach [John McKee] selected the side, he wanted the strongest and best team and players available. There are Fijian players who are performing well, in France and in England, who are playing with and against some of the best player in the world at club level in these countries.”
Matawalu knows the Newcastle Falcons trio of Tevita Cavubati, Vereniki Goneva and Nemani Negusa, and, it is likely Edinburgh fans will be equally familiar with them after they face the Falcons in back-to-back Champions Cup ties.
It was facing Scottish opposition, namely the international squad in a Test in 2012 in Lautoka, that convinced Matawalu that Scotland and Scotstoun would be where he wanted to play his rugby.
“That was why I signed for Glasgow Warriors, after that game. Stuart Hogg played, Tim Visser, Al Kellock,” he recalled. But like then, Fiji – while being a class apart in Sevens rugby - still have an inherent issue at Test level, namely, a lack of players in key roles, namely up front.
“For Sevens, there isn’t a lot of set-pieces. It’s just like they love to play the game, throwing the ball around, and time is short, only seven minutes. If you keep the ball, and score, the other team doesn’t get a chance,” says Matawalu, who suddenly recalls Tom Ryder and Ryan Grant were also in the Scotland team that beat Fiji 37-25 six years ago.
“In the XV-a-side game, it is all about development; front rows, locks. The academies go through the progress of bringing players through, but when they go, they have to fill up the gaps again. The continuity is difficult. The development of forwards, good forwards, is the issue. That’s where other nations have an advantage over Fiji. There are just not enough of them … Ross Ford and Richie Gray, he was the other lock,” he remembered, without breaking stride.
“It is OK having two good props, or a couple of good line out jumpers. But you need four or five of them at international level, in all forward positions. And the size of the players in the different roles matters as well.
“In Sevens, Fiji could put a winger at prop. It doesn’t work that way at Test level. We still have the skill levels, and we are good with the ball in our hands. But winning it is a problem at the highest level.”
Does Matawalu miss playing Test rugby.
He paused. “No, not really. To be fair, I have been so busy – and so happy – with my two little boys, they make me smile every day. They still make me happy. So, I don’t miss it.”
As I thanked him for our chat, Niko added: “John Barclay was at No 8, wasn’t he?” Indeed, he was. That Test match must have meant a lot to Niko Matawalu.
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