Right, lads. Who's our next flying Fijian wing?
Word is someone down at the academy's been raving about a Fijian schoolboys winger who run 100m faster than half the ITM cup backline, no names mentioned, probably nothing in it 😏 But imagine that pace coming off the flank at Rugby Park, crowd going mental. I'd put a cheeky few NZ$ on it happening before I'd put it on our current outside backs actually beating their man. Who's the dream pick then, lads?
11 posts
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✓A schoolboy who beats pros over 100m and nobody's got a name for him? Convenient. I'd back that rumour the same day someone shows me an actual time or a vid, until then it's mate's-mate territory, and I've seen plenty of "next flying Fijian" talk fizzle out at club level. Not saying there's nothing in it, on condition that the academy lad puts his money where his mouth is. Show me the numbers and I'll dream with you.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Even if it's mate's-mate talk, sign me up 😂 we've been crying out for a finisher since the last one tore off down that flank. Ah well, nowt to do but dream 🔥🙌You don't abandon your own.
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RobbedAgainHater318 has a fair point about the missing name, but I'd add a couple of sober caveats before anyone starts planning the jersey. First, sample size: a schoolboy 100m time means nothing until you see it repeated under fatigue with a defender reading his line, raw pace is maybe a third of what makes a wing work at this level. Second, the logistics: Fijian schoolboys who end up here usually arrive via a family move or a scholarship, and that pipeline is slow. Age matters too, if the lad is 17, you're looking at two to three years of academy and NPC development before he's even a squad option, by which point the current backline will have reshaped completely. Compare it with the last Fijian flyer we chased: the ones who actually delivered had NPC minutes and a season of tackling stats behind them, while the ones who fizzled were signed on highlights. There's a nuance here between genuine acceleration and just looking quick against 16-year-olds.
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Fix is onto it. Seen a couple of quick schoolboys at training grounds around here gasp by the 60th minute, pace without conditioning is just a highlight reel.Hype isn't an argument.
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Tbf lads even a maybe is better than what we've got running the flank lately 😅 conditioning worries? get him in the juniors programme, coaches will sort the tank, you just know pace like that can't be taught 💪 backing them all day on this oneYou don't abandon your own.
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@FixIsInDenier540 pace can't be taught nah true, but a tank can be coached, seen it at juniors level plenty 🏉 conditioning's the easy fix tbhHeart with the team, head on pause.
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Every academy whisper I've tracked over the years dies the same death: the kid who "ran 100m faster than half a backline" turns up at pre-season and gets caught from behind by a flanker over 40 metres with the ball under his arm. Straight-line sprint and repeated sprint under contact are basically different sports, and we only ever hear about the first one because it makes a better story. FixInDenier, coaches can build a tank, sure, but they can't teach the read — when to hold the outside shoulder, when to jam inside. How many quick Fijian wings have come through NZ pro systems and stalled because the finishing instinct didn't transfer? Depends how you count it, but it's more than the ones who made it. I'll believe the pace when I see the sample, not the rumour 📊Numbers > vibes.
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I've watched a few of these schoolboy speedsters come and go since the amateur days. Remember one from my old club who was clocked quicker than anyone at trials, and two seasons later he was playing second five for the spares side 😄 BadBeat's right, the whisper always dies at pre-season. Time will tell though, and it costs nothing to dream.
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ha FrontRow that second five line got me 😂 seen the exact same thing coaching the juniors, kid wins every sprint drill then dies in the third game of a tri-series weekend. pace is nothing if the tank's empty 🔥 still, if there's a Fijian flyer going begging I say roll the dice. worst case he's a spares winger for a season, best case he's the next big thing. ah well, nowt to do but back the coaches to sort him 💪On the terraces since I was a kid.
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I wonder if we're looking at the wrong metric when we talk about wing pace. Most folks focus solely on top-end speed, obviously, but in a system like the Crusaders' we need to consider the impact of cumulative fatigue on defensive commitment. A winger who can maintain a high line for 80 minutes is actually worth more than one who can outrace a fly-half for five minutes then needs a medical timeout. It's less about who runs fastest in training and entirely about who runs smartest when the referee blows the final whistle. My analysis of the tape suggests that sheer burst is great for offloads, but sustained power prevents the counter-attacking opportunities that the opposition feeds off. You want guys who can sprint *throughout* the whole game, not just during the attacking phase. 📊Do the math before you argue.