When it comes to looking for new rugby talent you'd
expect Fiji to cast an eye across its 333 islands for potential
candidates, but more recently it looked at another destination
adorned with beautiful beaches, the English county of Cornwall.
Josh Matavesi was born in Cornwall to an English mother and
Fijian father and had only just signed for Exeter Chiefs when he
got the call from Fiji and went on to become the Pacific
island's youngest ever international after making his debut
against Scotland last November.
LISTEN TO MATAVESI AND A JWC MATCH DAY REVIEW ON THIS
WEEK'S TOTAL RUGBY RADIO >>
The 19-year-old is currently with Fiji's Under 20 side at
the IRB Junior World Championship 2010 in Argentina and preparing
to face Samoa in the final round of pool matches on Sunday, having
already started at fly half against New Zealand and Wales.
"Moses Rauluni hit me up on Facebook and asked me if I
wanted to play for Fiji and I asked him to give me a couple of days
to think about it, before I went back to him to say yes,"
Matavesi told Total Rugby.
Right decision
"Mike Brewer, the team manager, asked if I wanted to
come on tour, so I told [Exeter Chiefs head coach] Rob Baxter I
quite fancy going on tour with Fiji and he said go for it."
His father Sireli toured England with the Fiji Barbarians in
the 1980s with the likes of Fijian legend Waisale Serevi and on a
weekend off some players went down to Cornwall, had a couple of
beers and pasties and played against Cambourne.
Invited back to play for Cambourne and work in the tin mine,
Sireli met and married an English woman and three years later Josh
was born. Having grown up in England, it was perhaps inevitable
that the teenager would begin his career in the English age grade
set up.
"I played for England Under 18s and I had a foothold in
the England Under 20s, but I didn't get selected for a couple
of games and I think this helped me in my decision really,"
explained Matavesi.
"I just thought I'd go for Fiji, it felt right at
the time and it still feels right now so I'm happy."
Easing the pressure
Matavesi, who kicked six points in Fiji's 44-11 loss to
New Zealand and another three in a 31-3 loss to Wales, will start
at full back against Samoa in their final Pool A match, the same
position he made his test debut in a similarly tough match.
"Alex Grove killed me in my first game, so I won't
be throwing any dummies in his path again! He made a good tackle on
me and I still get ripped for it from my friends today,"
admitted Matavesi.
"I only had a handful of appearances for Exeter before I
played against Scotland and it was the just pace of the game I kind
of struggled with, it was just so fast and I didn't know what
to do sometimes and I got left in the deep end. It was a good
experience and I know what to do next time."
While his first start ended in defeat, he earned his second
cap as a replacement against Ireland before starting at fly half
against Romania, kicking nine points in a 29-18 victory. His
father's son, Matavesi certainly enjoyed the Fijian way.
"The Fijians in the changing room before the game in
Scotland was something I'll never forget. It was 2.18 on the
clock and we'd just done our warm-up. I was really nervous, I
couldn't sit down, I was pacing the changing room and in the
background I heard something and one of the boys had put on a Girls
Aloud CD and everyone started laughing which eased the pressure a
bit.
'Cornish Fijian'
"They're so laid back I think they're going to
stop. We had a game plan but the game plan was to go out and do the
offloads and goosesteps and hopefully it will backfire against
anything they've got and that was the tactics for the week, we
practiced in touch games and were laughing, it was awesome."
But then the Fijian way has always been Josh's way, and
that of his rugby-playing brothers Sam and Joel too. All three have
played for Cornwall and share their father Sireli's traits.
"A lot of the PE teachers didn't like the style me
and Sam played, it wasn't the textbook style, it was one-handed
running, goose steps and dummies that are outrageous," he
explained.
"Some people don't like that but I find it
enjoyable, I expect people like to watch it as well. The way the
Fijians play, the flair and the way they know each other, what
they're going to do and how they're going to do it, is why
I wanted to play for Fiji.
"I don't feel English, I feel Cornish. Cornish
Fijian that's what they call it."
** WATCH THE THREE POOL DECIDERS - NEW ZEALAND v WALES,
ENGLAND v FRANCE AND SOUTH AFRICA v AUSTRALIA - LIVE ON
WWW.IRB.COM/JWC **
