Posts Tagged rugby
About that Adelaide 7s Tournament
And in other news that I’ve been desperately been trying to ignore, Fiji lost the Adelaide 7s.
Fiji wins the Hong Kong Sevens 2009!
Image source: www.fr.seatwave.com
It was quite the nailbiting finals that the Hong Kong Sevens is renowned for, and boy were we fever pitched tonight. The finals of the HK 7s of Fiji versus South Africa was, to be frank, a surprise to me. Having watched their pool matches, especially with their 12 all draw with Samoa, I didn’t hold much faith in the team, and instead resigned myself to the idea of yet another losing streak this year.
But match after curiously exciting match, the Fiji team proved both to themselves and the crowd everywhere that these boys had promise, and it was after finally defeating Kenya in the semi finals that I was starting to feel the familiar stirrings of hope, nervousness and a slight itching for grog to calm the inevitable finals nerves down.
While there wasn’t any grog around (I lie, there was grog, just no one to drink it with), there was plenty of emotion and yelling firsthand, as Fiji went into the finals against the South Africans. All doubts as to whether our guys would be struck by the dreaded ‘finals jitters’ were laid to rest when we blazed ahead in the first half with 19 points on the board. SA managed 2 tries towards the end of the first half, with the gap just wide enough to allow us to breath into the break, as well as be on the edge, since we were still within range.
The second half started off more brutal, with SA out for blood. But Fiji managed to hold their own and fight back, with a surprising half run, half stagger score from Burotu. SA seemed to be on the losing side of nerves, with alot of missed tackles and a few dropped balls, but Fiji looked anything but nervous. Ironically, I think it was this zeal for a win that resulted in the sin bin for both Roko (who planted a foot into a tackle) and Goneva (shouldered a SA player – looked more like a bump to me). Those sin bins cost us two tries to SA, who edged the points to 24-26, with a conversion needed to take the game into over-time. I was calling on all the old gods of Fiji and whatever voodoo incantations that I could remember from Magic 101 when it was the conversion attempt, and this time, I wasn’t disappointed. Dazel misses the difficult kick from the sideline, and in doing so, cemented Fiji’s position as the Hong Kong winners for 2009.
In between the games, a promo was running with questions relating to rugby sevens, and one of them was, “when was the last time Fiji won the Hong Kong Sevens?” Too long ago, was my reply. And in winning this tournament, it has indeed been too long since our country last cheered in unison at our rugby boys, representing our beloved country overseas. Fireworks were fired into the night after the game, and for once, Fiji felt like the old days, where everyone would go to sleep satisfied that their country has once again defended its pride on the sevens stage.
Post – Hong Kong Sevens Match + Earth Hour
Image source: www.irb.com
So what was different this year about Earth Hour and the Hong Kong Sevens compared to say, last year? Hmm, not much.
Lets do a checklist shall we?
(1) Earth Hour and Fiji playing in the hong kong sevens to be around the same day, same time? …check.
(2) Some enterprising soul at the FEA powerplant deciding to honour Earth Hour and forceline a couple of neighbourhoods into it as well by shutting off their power for about 40 minutes? …check.
(3) My immediate neighbourhood not giving two hoots about Earth Hour and all its hype? …check.
(4) My immediate self not giving three hoots about Earth Hour, instead resigning myself to the more urgent situation that was our country versus Samoa? …sorry Greenpeace…but Fiji pride before the conservation of the world. Slightly guilty check.
(5) The more urgent situation of our country versus Samoa resulting in us coming to a 12-all draw? Not a check on this one, though that doesn’t make the pain any more bearable ><
(6) The increased stress and worry now that Fiji is finally into the Quarter Finals? Check.
Coming up next tomorrow for the Cup Quater Finals, Fiji vs England. To be honest I have no idea how this game will go…
Top 5 Posts of 2008
Ah 2008.
2008 was many things to many people, but to this blog, some things never change, especially in Fiji. Sure, we’ve got dark times ahead with our somewhat soured relationship with New Zealand, but then again, when were we ever good friends with them to begin with? The way I saw it, we were always enemies, since Rugby brings out the worst in their devoted followers 
Also, the world economy took a hit, and soon we’ll be all feeling the familiar pinch of tight pockets and careful budgeting.
Also, the world economy took a hit, and soon we’ll be all feeling the familiar pinch of tight pockets and careful budgeting.But it wasn’t all doom and gloom you know. In terms of the much under appreciated sport of rugby league, the Fiji Bati fired up the hearts and minds of fijians everywhere when they made a surprising run at the Rugby League World Cup in Australia, showcasing a quality of rugby that echoed the awesome performance of the Rugby Union World Cup 2007. Fiji also took a step towards Hollywood popularity when they designated the pacific as “Bulawood“. Oh. And we got another hurricane.
And throughout all the posts (or the lack thereof), you’ve always commented, letting us know just what you think of whatever was posted, agreements, disagreements, flames, trolls, the work. Here are the top 5 posts of the year by feedback:
It was all about 2007 apparently. The mandatory lookback at our humble beginnings, our noobish attempts at blogging, the unwittingly popular posts about crazy air hostesses, 2007 was a year that heralded a new local blog into the somewhat sparsely populated blogging scene (save for the contraversial, army hating regulars). It happened. And there was no turning back.
OMG a dilemma! It was the weekend of weekends, with a showdown between two events that locals were preparing to follow and adhere to. Earth Hour, the initiative to save the world from its eco-gulping inhabitants, was going to be started around the same time as our beloved Hong Kong 7s matches, and a pros and cons list had to be drawn up to decide who was the ultimate winner. Of course, a cursory glance at the game times revealed that Fiji’s matches were roughly 2 hours ahead of Earth Hour. So in the end, both parties won. Rare.
Fiji has only just being exposed to the West and all its ways in the past few centuries, and seems to haven taken most of the influence in its stride. Franchise in all its glory has not been left behind, and has taken residence with an almost enviable ease. However, a few have since hiccuped and closed shop, due to either near impossible competition (all hail Comsol the mighty dvd distributor of pirate dvds), bad business decisions, or just plain bad luck.
Heh. Best photo of 2008 in my humble opinion, which is mostly overrated, and never paid any attention, but I digress. Vodafone and Digicel, both warring business houses in the field of easy phones and bright splashy full page advertising, go out of their way to grab the consumer’s easily lost attention, though Digicel went one step further, and brought in chubby R&B crooner Sean Kingston on their opening day. Of course, never one to lose sight of any opportunity, Vodafone staff somehow managed a photo with the star when he landed, with the digicel staff nowhere to be found. Lols ensured.
In a very pote kind of way as well. World famous magician and all round slick haired Harry Houdini visited our shores back in 1910 and upon seeing some locals perform a diving trick, bested them at their own game. I can just picture it. The local divers, after being made to look like fools, scratch the back of their heads, grin, and swear silently before going off to town to shoot a few games of billiard and curse at all tourists in general. At least that is what I’d do. Early 1900′s or not.
With that behind us, I’m certainly looking forward to what surprises 2009 has in store for us all. Stay safe this festive season.
5 Minutes with the Maestro
Image source: www.scrumoftheearth.com
“Hey guess what?”
Most mornings don’t usually begin with a question like that. It’s either a “Io – ” head-straight-to-workstation or a “Yadra” head-straight-to-workstation start. It’s the morning, what’d you expect? Coffee and a bright eyed PA to greet you with a sunshine smile and the morning paper? Not in my version. Or paygrade.
I had just entered the office. It was a sunny Wednesday morning, and my late night WoW sessions didn’t bode too well with my somewhat rebellious bodyclock. Entering the front door, I was greeted, nay, assaulted by the company secretary, M. She grabbed my hand and practically yelled the question at me, wild-eyed with excitement.
“Hey hey guess what?”
I groaned as loud as I possibly could, trying in vain to dissuade her morning hype with my late night darkcloud of a mood. No luck.
“Guess what guess what?”
“What M?” I started to walk towards the kitchen, excited secretary in tow. “Caaaiiittta thing sa morning saraga and you already want to take my hand and play baseball with the thing. What- “
“Serevi’s coming to the office!”
I stopped cold.
“…Who?”
By now she knew I was listening to her, and pressed her attack.
“You know that Serevi is coming to our office today saraga this morning? For one photoshoot?”
Needless to say I was shocked.
“Serevi? Serevi ga Serevi?”
I jiggled my feet in a lame attempt of a goose step.
“That Serevi?”
“Yes! That Serevi! The one and only!”
M laughed and clapped her hands in a fit of girly excitement. My jaw dropped and I had to surpress the urge to abandon my age bracket join in nilly-willy with the mini-celebration.
“Holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit,” my mind raced. I needed to record this monumental moment. I was going to see the King of the oval ball, the maestro of the pitch, the legend of a nation that revered all that was sevens and rugby-ish.
I was going to meet Serevi.
The question that raced through my head first off was, if you’re going to meet someone famous, and you wanted a piece of history to take home with you, what would have been the best memorabilia/surface to have signed?
I did a quick mental check:
Rugby t-shirt: None. Nada. I came to work in my bloody ‘save-the-whales’ hippy t-shirt and jeans. It was Wednesday, so of course I was in my mid-week crisis wardrobe mode. And I didn’t think I’d have want Serevi to sign on some dinky whale. I liked that shirt.
Rugby Ball: This would have been really great as something to be signed on, if only there was a ball within the premises. Unfortunately, being a fairly straight forward desk and computer office, sports was somewhat of a foreign notion to most of the staff. So that was quickly struck off the list.
Rugby Poster: Any self respecting rugby fan will tell you that their wall must and I stress, must have at least one poster that depicts the oval ball in action in order to prove their dedication towards the only manly sports in the pacific. Bonus points if its those cool adidas All Blacks posters with them turning lions into fur coats. Alas, this was not my room, and no rugby posters were within reach. Sad I know.
Female Breasts: of which I had none. Last time I checked. But judging by the adulating gaze that M would be giving Serevi, I’m sure hers would have been supplied free of charge, pen or no pen.
Flat Stomach: No luck here as well. Fiji Bitter has seen to that.
After racking my brains for what seemed like an eternity, it finally hit me and I resisted the urge to punch myself in the kidney for not thinking of the solution earlier.
A photograph!
I needed a camera. And quick.
To be continued…
Rugby League – Fiji Bati Vs Ireland – Live Blogging
Live blogging this real quick – You owe me a beer for this Sharky ^_^
For those not in the know and reading this at the time of publishing, press F5 now and then to refresh the post to get an update of the game as it progresses.
3:27: Holy crap a score to Fiji! Awesome run from the middle, score right near the posts.
Fiji 6 Ireland 0
7:37: Damnit. Crappy tackling along the wing from Fiji results in a quick score by Ireland on the far right side of the field. Conversation was surprisingly accurate.
Fiji 6 Ireland 6
11:42: Ooooh Hayne’s eyes weren’t on the ball, resulting in a forward ball right near Ireland’s scoreline. Eyes on the prize mate ><
14:50: Heart-breakingly close! Short chinese looking guy (i’ll get the name later i promise) for Fiji makes a break for the scoreline but gets held up right like 1 metre before the line and looses the ball to the Irish. More greens, more height XD
22:34: A knock on ball from Fiji right infront of the Irish scoreline again! Fiji’s got to stop with the silly mistakes if they want to move beyond the 6-6 scoreline that haunts my waking moment.
25:32: Talking about those silly mistakes, Fiji just gave away a penalty to Ireland after one of our players decided to wipe his elbow all over an irish player. Infront of all those cameras. And the referree. Smart. Penalty attempt was amiss, so scores remained the same. For now.
29:30: Golden boy Uate makes an absolutely brilliant try, slicing through the Irish defense and scoring right next to the posts. Wes converts the try easily.
Fiji 12 Ireland 6
35:52: Careless hands from a lame catch by one of the Fijian boys results in a score for the Irish. Been noticing this guy make quite a few mistakes. The pressure seems to be getting to him, a fact that he himself seems to acknowledge after knocking on the ball now and then. At least the conversation missed. Whew.
Fiji 12 Ireland 10
39:21: My heart did a few skips when a bad pass from a Fijian player skipped a few players hands, and finally landing with one of the irish fellows, only to get hammered by a bati tree with a bandage around his head. Irish guy walks off the field with a bleeding nose. I make a fist at the screen.
Half Time: Fiji 12 Ireland 10
Half Time Thoughts: Fiji’s playing a tad bit more composed then their last game in the first half against Scotland, though their fatigue/carelessness/ego is starting to show, with mistakes, dropped balls and uncompleted sets showing through. Ireland on the other hand seems like the more composed team, but like Scotland before them, lacks that defining oomph to make the tries that Fiji has, but is failing to play. However, if Ireland hangs in there with proper structured rugby, and Fiji continues on their way of penalty giveaways, this game might just go their way. History has a wierd habit of repeating itself. Here’s hoping the half time break will allow the coach some time to knock some sense back into the boys. From my point of view, Ireland should be a walkover, less of a challenge then say, that French team that was defeated, nay, decimated awhile back.
Fingers crossed we’ll see more of that infamous fijian flaire coming into play in the second half.
Second Half
43:23: Held up at the irish try line what a heart break! It looked like a score, but the fijian was gift wrapped all nice and proper – and holy crap Ireland nearly scored with a run from their half, if it wasn’t for the match saving tackle by Uate. God bless that kid. My heart can’t take anymore of this ><
51:23: Oooooh a chip kick from Fiji near the irish goal line and the ball goes rogue, defeating our chaser. Close one.
55:08: After a few false starts, and a few loose balls, Fiji finally adds a few points to the board! Fiji’s finally starting to show some builds, while Ireland’s starting to show a few cracks in their defense. Wes again with his precise kicking converts the try.
Fiji 18 Ireland 10
60:31: One irish player’s got his face mixed with blood and sweat. Gets sent off the field. Crunching fijian tackles are coming through, showing our spirit’s getting fired up.
62:53: A penalty from Ireland after trying to slow the ball down right near their scoreline results in a penalty kick by the ever sharp Wes. It’s on baby. On like Donkey Kong.
Fiji 20 Ireland 10
65:38: A beautiful, simply beautiful chip kick again through the irish defense, and golden boy Hayne grabs the ball, nearly tackles one of the goal posts, and makes the try. Video referring be damned ^_^ Wes again with the golden boot makes the conversion all too easy.
Fiji 26 Ireland 10
75:18: In the words of my uncle who was watching, “Uate ga me score,” “let Uate do the scoring”. And by jove he did, with several passes all the way to the wing where Uate was waiting, he managed to beat one defender to make it pass the scoreline. Aaaaand the conversion was denied with the ball seemingly on a one way trip towards the post. It’s safe to say that this match is pretty much in the basket.
Fiji 30 Ireland 10
79:30: With what looked like a forward pass by a fellow irish player, the Irish team makes a somewhat conselation try. The conversion misses AND ITS OVER!!!! HELL YEAH!!!! (Still have to get used to how prompt these rugby league referees are ><)
Final Score:
Fiji 30 Ireland 14
According to the commentators, we’re going into the semi-finals against Australia as ‘massive, massive underdogs’, but hey, at least we earned our passage to get there. A great game by Fiji, with their discipline, structure and support play, as well as good ol’ fijian spirit propelling them through to the much dreaded semi-finals against the All Blacks of Rugby League, Australia. Here’s to their impressive, if somewhat drubby win, and hope that they tie up the loose ends (loose tempers, messy passes, incomplete sets) before their game this upcoming Sunday.
GO FIJI GO!
Sacre Bleu! Fiji Bati Pwns the French!
Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle’s left…leg.
There’s bad news, and then there’s good news, of which the later variety comes in several incarnations.
There’s good news where a family member gets married (huray! little nephew/niece tykes!) and the whole family, extended and all gets to join in the ensuring celebration.
Then there’s great news, like you getting the promotion, allowing you access to that car you’ve always mourned at in the display window.
Then, there’s news that is so awesomely awesome, that you’ll be naming your kids after the fateful day just so that the event will be remembered down the dark, musty halls of time.
Yes. In the world of the Rugby League World Cup, the Vodafone Fiji Bati, in their first pool match, has taken the French Team and rubbed their faces in the pitch, seven times over. An epic score of 42 to 6 has made the 500-1 Fiji team now hot favourites.
Seven tries people. Seven awe inspiring, heart warming, this-aint-over-the-best-is-yet-to-come, grog swirling, patriotic pride inducing tries. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that such a hugh scoreline would have belonged to a sevens match between say Hong Kong andMalaysia. Scores with that big a margin don’t translate well to a supposed 1st rate rugby country such as the French Roosters. If anything, 6 points to the French means that they were forever stuck on the back foot. The french coach John Monie was right. “They had too much enthusiasm.”
For those of you who missed the game (me included, blame halloween), fear not,for thanks to the power of the Internet, a few of the tries are available on Youtube, and thus, here! Big vinaka to rugsta15 for uploading the videos and sharing the love. All thats left now is for the torrent of the full game to be made available.
/wish
Fiji – 16 France – 6
Akuila Uate’s 1st Try
Commentor note: “Anymore of this and they’ll buy him an island!”
Fiji – 22 France – 6
Akuila Uate’s 2nd Try
Commentor note: “YOOUWAATEE!!!“
Fiji – 30 France – 6
Semisi Tora’s (Commentors were refering to him as ‘Tori’) Try
Commentor note: “The celebrations will be emotional once if they cross the line – AND THEY DOOO!!!!” Gotta love the timing in that one.
Fiji – 36 France – 6
Jaryyd Hayne’s Try
Commentor note: “Get out the bowls, get out the kava, its going to be one hell of a party!“ Lol ^_^
Fiji – 42 France – 6
Akuila Uate’s 3rd Try
Commentor note: “42 points to 6! What? Who would have thought?!” Fuck yeah, you’d better recognise
Points worth pointing out:
1) Akuila Uate is the next ‘insert-great-rugby-icon-from-fiji’ player. That guy gets rugby team scouts all hot and wet.
2) I’m not going to miss the next game against Scotland this upcoming Wednesday. And if you count yourself as a true rugby patriot, you wouldn’t too. Not for all the cheap barrel nights in the world. Or beer katis.
3) Vodafone Fiji is going to be so happy. Queue another media blitz about who exactly is sponsoring that winning team. The sevens team now have extra pressure to perform from their Digicel sponsors in order to look just as good.
4) I’m just so god-darned proud to be Fijian right now that it hurts ^_^
To keep that patriotic fever pitch going, here’s a great song written by Igelese Ete for the Fiji Bati and performed by the ever amazing Talei Burns with the Pacific Voices choir.
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