Former FIJI Water Flying Fijians coach and current Chairman of the Fiji Rugby Players Association, Ilivasi Tabua says the 2007 Rugby World Cup will be marked down as a magic moment for him as a coach and a supporter of Fijian rugby.
While speaking on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan, Tabua says they had about eight weeks to prepare for the tournament in France and many of their staff were locals.
He highlighted that they had planned well for the tournament, knowing that they had a short turnaround time.
Tabua says their main target for 2007 was reaching the quarter finals, and he saw the players put in the effort of reaching that goal when they played South Africa in the quarters.
He adds that the players were well educated on what they was required of them.
He further adds that this is where the conversation on setting up the Fiji Rugby Players Association started.
Former Flying Fijians player and Fiji Rugby Players Association Director Wame Lewaravu says the nine weeks of preparation were quite intense, and it came with a lot of challenges, in terms of equipment and the necessary tools to help them prepare for the World Cup. He says they never complained about the challenges they faced but put their hands up and delivered on what was required.
Lewaravu says the 2007 Rugby World Cup team consisted of a lot of locals, and it was quite nerve-wrecking that at one point they were just playing at Ratu Cakobau Park, Lawaqa Park, and the National Stadium, and suddenly they were thrown in front of the stadium with 70,000 to 80,000 people.
He adds that they are grateful that the FRU had a programme running before which assisted them to adapt quickly to the environment of the Rugby World Cup.
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