Fijian 'Bus' Josua Tuisova ready for 'home' clash against French Top 14 teammates

Flying Fijians v France

Kick-off: 9:10am Sunday, 16 November

Venue: Stade Matmut-Atlantique, Bordeaux

France-based Flying Fijians hitman Josua Tuisova says playing against the Les Bleus will be "tough" but he is looking forward to clashing with some of his French Top 14 teammates on Sunday.

The touring islanders face France in their second of a three-match European Tour, which kicked-off with a loss to England at Twickenham last weekend.

Tuisova, who currently plays for Racing 92 in the French Top 14 competition, has been playing in France since he was signed up by Toulon in 2013, calling France his second home away from home.

He has lived in France since then, and had moved fromn Toulon to Lyon before being recruited by Racing 92.

Speaking at a press conference at the team's Bordeaux camp on Wednesday, Tuisova said playing against France will not be easy, he is excited about facing some of his own French mates.

"We think it's going to be a tough game on Saturday," Tuisova said.

"I have been in France for few years now and I know some of the players playing for France... looking forward to playing against them."

Tuisova, who has been nicknamed 'The Bus' by the French media because of his busting runs and ability to bump of would-be tacklers, said the Flying Fijians will need to up their game, after last weekend's disappointing result against England.

He said the French would use a lot of kicks to test the Fijians and their hosts will also use their power-packed forward eight to try and break their way through to the Fijian line.

Being on song with their tackling and covering the open spaces will be critical.

"I think we have to cover, especially us backs. They are going to do a lot of kicking this weekend.

"We are already look into it, and we are going to solve it as as a team."

Number 8 Viliame Mata backed Tuisova and said the French will not be easy to beat at home.

But he said the lessons learned from last week's clash against England and the fact that Fiji had defeated the Les Blues in 2018 has given the players hope that they can rise to the occassion once again.

"It's massive for us," Mata said of the 2018 win.

"Because if that [2018] group did it... it just gives us the confidence that this group can do it again. So it's doable. Beating France in France is always good for Fiji rugby."

He said the players have recovered well and have enjoyed preparing in Bordeaux, where they were also based initially during the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

"We're training at the Bordeaux rugby union facility," he said.

"I think everybody's recovered and we went through for our first training session today and we are up to speed at the moment.

"We had a tough review on Monday, but we know that is one of the game that we just let it slip. It was on our own errors that England players capitalized, so we tried to fix that, and we know that we can win that game.

"So the focus now is to win this game."

Big battle

Assistant coach Aaron Mauger told the press conference pushing the disappointment of the England loss aside was instant as the players shifted their focus to France, who he said will be tough to beat.

"Obviously, we had the performance against England at the weekend, and going into these big games, expecting to perform well and the form well enough to get a result, so naturally, everybody was was disappointed with the outcome," he said.

"But the context here is there's lots of good things happening in our game to go toe to toe with the top four team in the world, and barring a couple of moments, a little bit of execution in the right parts of the field and a pretty good space, but they're disappointed not to get the result and to let it slip away in that last 10 minutes.

"So really good review yesterday, after travelling on Sunday, and another good day today. So we're two days into our week in preparation for the French which is going to be another big battle, which we're very much looking forward to, but very proud of the players.

"They've bounced well from the disappointment, and we'll set our week up well, going into the recovery and recharge."

Mauger said playing the top four teams in the world is always an honour for the islanders and he believes the current lot of players will stand up to the challenge, especially after having tasted victory in France seven years ago.

Obviously means a lot every time the flying Fijians take the field, it's an opportunity to inspire the nation and take our people on the journey.

So it's every every game matters a lot to this team, and obviously that was a great performance and a great day for for Fiji rugby and the country.

"We can draw some inspiration from those performances, saying that that was seven years ago. So now it's this team's time to put in a performance that we can be proud of and have a real crack, and add to that legacy of Fijian rugby."

Mauger, a former All Black, said the French were in good form against South Africa last weekend, despite their loss.

He expects their hosts to start strong and be consistent throughout, with the loud and noisy French fans backing them.

Similarity in playing style will be a feature, with the French also masters of the free-flowing game that is the Fijians' trademark.

"Watching the French South Africa game was pretty similar to our game," he said of the French performance.

"They were really in the contest for most of the game, and probably let the game get away on them a little bit against the good South African side.

"What we've seen is obviously the French are a very physical pack. They've got some great broken field runners and open play and a very clever kicking game, so mindful of their strengths and the rest of the focus really has been on us, taking the learning from our own game against England and the areas that we need to be better."

Head coach Mick Byrne will be tempted to make some changes to his match-day 23.

The replacements in the last quarter against England failed to lift the momentum and first-choice flyhalf Caleb Muntz was off with his kicking, missing all three conversion attempts.

Replacement halfback Sam Wye failed to make an impact and Byrne could be tempted to use the young Philip Baselala, who has improved since playing against the Wallabies earlier this year.

But he is certain to keep Mata and Tuisova, with former All Black Pita Gus Sowakula, who was in a class of his won against England.