Vodafone Flying Fijians Coach John McKee Europe Tour Report
Vodafone Flying Fijians Coach John McKee was recently in Europe to meet with Vodafone Flying Fijians and their club and Strength and Conditioning coaches as he finalizes his squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Europe Tour Report
According to McKee he was very happy with the reports from the clubs as some of the players are in good form and have been playing well in their competitions.
“I met with Head Coaches at all clubs. This gave me an opportunity to outline Fiji’s RWC plans and requirements for player availability. The coaches gave me good insights into the players’ form and contributions to the team on and off the field. Overall I had very positive responses from the club coachers regarding player availability for the 2015 RWC”. Fijians players form at their clubs.”
“Meeting with the club coaching and management staff is very important for the Fiji Rugby Union to help establish positive working relationships and lines of communication with Professional Clubs in Europe & NZ”
He also met with players that were excited of the possibility of representing Fiji and also confirmed their availability for the RWC 2015, names of which he will release later.
While in La Rochelle, he had the opportunity to watch the match between La Rochelle v Paris which featured Vodafone Flying Fijians Sireli Bobo, Levani Botia, Kini Murimurivalu and Jone Qovu. Unfortunately though, Levani Botia did not play due to a suspension for a Red Card in a previous match. The Red Card was for a tip tackle while Murimurivalu has made a good return following his injury.
According to the coaching staff Patrice Callazo (Head Coach), Patrice Zapate (S&C) and Lylian Bathuel (Physio), Botia has been a key player for them.
He then traveled to Paris for the Racing v Montpellier match on Saturday, 11 April. Vodafone Flying Fijians captain, Akapusi Qera played a very good game at No. 8 while Jim Nagusa scored a great try but dislocated his shoulder. McKee is awaiting final diagnosis on Nagusa before he makes a decision.
On the other hand, Albert Vulivuli started at 12 for Montpellier and played a strong game for 60 minutes. Vulivuli came across from La Rochelle where he was not getting any game time.
McKee is currently in New Zealand and was due to meet with Patrick Osborne but with Osborne signing a new Super Rugby contract with the New Zealand Rugby Union as a NZ eligible player, this has ruled him out of playing for the Vodafone Flying Fijians.
However, McKee will travel to the Crusaders and spend a week with the coaching staff for professional development. He will also speak to Nemani Nadolo, Jone Macilai and former Vodafone Fiji U20 prop Alex Hodgeman.
He will then travel on to Wellington to meet with Taniel Koroi and Api Naikatini before he returns to Fiji.
“This trip has been very important in meeting with potential RWC players at their clubs. It is very good for me as Head Coach to talk to players face to face to outline our RWC plans and player requirements. It also provides an opportunity to outline to players individual work-on’s for their game and fitness requirements to be able to play the Flying Fijians style of play for the RWC”.