Nations Championship/Cup R2 Preview

Jeremy Lardner (0:01)

I begin this episode by paying respect to the Ngunnawal and Nambri people, the traditional custodians of the land on which this podcast is produced. I pay respect to their elders, past, present, and emerging, and I extend that same respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners of this podcast.

Pulumenaka, talofa lava, maloelele, and welcome back to the Dua Moana Pasifika Rugby Podcast, where we bring you Pasifika voices talking Pasifika rugby. Now, I'm your host Jeremy, and this is the preview for the second round of the second leg of the Nations Cup and Nations Championship tournaments. Now, we as Pasifika rugby fans have three very different challenges ahead of us this weekend. Tonga head to Georgia with the Tasmanic captain Big Ben coming back into the fold. Samoa take an unchanged static 15 to Portugal with some really interesting additions waiting for them on the bench. And Fiji go to Dublin with Basiliato leading the side, and some more combinations in the midfield and also the back row to explore. Now, for those listening here in the Pacific, we're talking about the matches coming into Sunday, the 15th of November, but they are Saturday fixtures in Europe where they're being played. And there's plenty to like in the selections across all three of these games. But this episode is also about what happens after the team announcement. Can Tonga tighten up after a shootout win last week? Can Samoa carry their confidence into a more demanding contest? Can Fiji turn a difficult night in Lyon into something special in Dublin? Now, let's start with Gale Tahi.

Tonga come into this one after beating Romania 43 to 38 That's six tries apiece and an away win worth appreciating for sure. But conceding 38 points also gives us a pretty clear indication of the work still to do.

The biggest selection headline is the return of Ben Tameifuna at tighthead. And as captain, Napola Latu drops out of the 23, and Ben comes straight into a front row alongside Siegfried Fisihoi and Sui Amale. Against Georgia, that's a significant return. This is a contest where Tonga needs a reliable platform coming from the forwards, because losing territory and then conceding set piece penalties is a very difficult cycle to escape, and a cycle that we know Georgia love putting teams into. Ben's technical value was a huge part of that. Tight head is about angles, timing, connection, and the ability to keep working when an opposition loose head tries to disrupt your shape. His carrying also gives Tonga a way to bring defenders into a small area to create opportunities elsewhere on the field. But I think his influence actually reaches beyond his own involvement. When your captain is prepared to take the difficult carry, get back to his feet and makes himself available again straight away, it sets an expectation for everyone around him. When a scrum has gone badly, an experienced captain can help the group deal with the next one without carrying the frustration of the last.

That is the inspirational effect that I'm looking for, because we've seen that from Big Ben in the past. We want to see a calmer pack, clearer decisions, and players who look confident about the job in front of them. To be clear, Ben, he can't do everyone's work, but his return should make it easier for the whole group to do theirs.

There's another important change in midfield. We're seeing Malakai Whakatoa moving from the bench into outside center to replace Finne Inisi. He'll be partnering for Tulipaya. Now, Finne offers his own attacking qualities. So I think this change is less about anything that Finne has done wrong or all lacks. It's more about the balance that Tonga are choosing for this particular match. Because Whakatoa brings a wealth of experience to those difficult defensive decisions in particular. He can help with telling the rest of the backs around him, as well as himself, when to press, when to hold, how to keep the outside defenders connected. I'd love to see him help Tonga win the space around contact. Carry hard when the opportunity is there, but also give Pellegrini and the outside backs useful options. If Georgia have to respect the threat through the middle, Tonga can earn better opportunities out wide, and we know that they have so much firepower out there. Fifita also comes into the starting second row, and Jossamata Ele will move to the bench. Sione Wailano and Sione Tui enter the 23 It's also lovely to see former Dua Moana guest and friend of the show, Filchitte, involved once again. Having that front row experience available later in a match like this, it matters so much against a team like Georgia.