Flying Fijians Regulation 9 Camp, Blagnac, Toulouse Media Update
The Vodafone Flying Fijians gathered in Toulouse on Sunday the 30th of October for their Regulation 9, three day camp before the team embarks on the November Tour to play against the Barbarians on Friday the 11th of November in Belfast Ireland, England in London and Japan in Vannes.
The regulation 9 Camp is the window that World Rugby assigns for National Teams to have excess to its professional players plying their trade with professional clubs in their various adopted Unions.
Team assembly is always a huge challenge for the November Tests taking into consideration the range in the location of top players.
National Head Coach John Mckee said “this Camp in Blagnac is very beneficial in terms of preparation for our November Tour. It is an opportunity to get the players together and focused on our game plan and systems. With players at so many different clubs it is important to get everyone on the same page in terms of the Vodafone Flying Fijians Game Plan.”
Regardless of the variations in player location and destination the team has settled in well with eighty percent of the players attending the camp and to date have gone through three training sessions at Blagnac Rugby Club Grounds.
“It is good to see the players gel so quickly. One of the strengths of the Fijian Team is their pride in representing Fiji and all the people back home, this really pulls the team together.”
“The players have quickly adapted to some changes we have introduced to the Game Plan.”
“We have six boys that play in our domestic competition that have been involved with the Fiji Warriors in 2016 on tour with us and they have all been adapting well to the sessions. Players like Eremasi Radrodro, Joeli Veitayaki and Serupepeli Vularika have been introduced to the Vodafone Flying Fijians environment and are very much aware of the expectations and the demands of Test rugby.”
Vodafone Flying Fijians Captain Akapusi Qera shared his sentiments on the camp saying “Yes the second day just finished now and the team is really gelling well on and off the field, which is really positive and it’s really showing in all the training sessions from Yesterday and today.”
“I am happy with the progress, there is a need to iron out some other stuff but all in all am happy to see leaders in the team coming out and pushing the Standards for the others to follow.”
The team is scheduled to have an opposed session against Georgia tomorrow before the professional players return to their clubs in the afternoon to prepare for their next round of games this weekend.
John Mckee also said that “this week has been about our Game Plan Clarity and working on some key specific skills that will be very important for the team to be able to execute the game strategy under the intense pressure and pace of Test Match Rugby.”
“Next week we will focus in on the specifics for our Game against the Barbarians and ensuring we are fully prepared to start our campaign with a very good performance in Belfast.”
The Vodafone Flying Fijians will disembark for Belfast on the 5th of November and are looking forward to the Test.