Paris (AFP)

A little tour and then go.

It was supposed to be one of the attractions of the Fall Nations Cup, but Fiji's three fixtures, against France, Italy and Scotland, were called off due to a wave of positive cases.

As a result, the European tour of the "Flying Fijians" turned sour.

They still have the hope of playing a last match, that of classification, on December 5 against the 4th of the other group but, for that, it will still be necessary to pass a new series of tests.

This last meeting will depend on "checks on their physical form, once the players have come out of their isolation and respecting all established protocols," the organizers warned.

A blow for the Fijians, 11th nation in the World Rugby rankings, who wanted to toughen up against the best world nations, especially European.

The length and difficulty of traveling to Suva, the capital, prevent these regular confrontations: apart from the World Cup, the Pacific nation has not faced a European team since November 2018 ... and a success in front of the Blues (24 -18).

This autumn Nations Cup was therefore timely to demonstrate that the Fijians are better than this cutesy World-2019, punctuated by a defeat to Uruguay (30-27).

Above all, this was their first meeting with their new coach, who arrived at the start of the year: the combination between the rigor of Vern Cotter and the ultra-spectacular play of his players was promising.

Because, with spearheads such as Semi Radradra (Bristol), Leone Nakarawa (Glasgow), Josua Tuisova (Lyon) or Nemani Nadolo (Leicester), Cotter's men have plenty to talk about.

- Misconduct -

Since their arrival in France at the end of October, Radradra's teammates have been hard at work.

For nothing then.

Since Friday, their last meeting of the group stage, against the XV du Chardon, was canceled.

"The progression of the contamination in the Fijian camp, the need for an isolation period of at least ten days, as well as the obvious need for a suitable preparation for an international match made this decision inevitable, although difficult. to take ", explained the organizers.

Prior to that, the number of positive Covid-19 cases in the Fijian workforce had risen to twenty-nine.

Players and members of the management were massively infected.

It's hard to know what exactly happened.

In the Fijian camp, according to AFP information, all eyes are on Vern Cotter.

The new coach was in charge of the Barbarians, whose match against England had been canceled after violations of health protocols.

"All that was not very well managed, in particular the resumption by small groups. They undoubtedly resumed collective training too early", entrusts to AFP a source close to the file, which evokes discrepancies on the part of the players, some of whom would have left and have rubbed shoulders with supporters in town.

After their internship in Limoges, which was to be punctuated by a preparation match against Portugal, also canceled, the Fijians had been training since last week in Andrézieux-Bouthéon, at the Roger-Baudras stadium.

Hosted in a four-star hotel transformed into a real "bunker", also a candidate to host one or more teams during the World-2023, players and members of the management had to take their meals in room service.

The flying Fijdians have their wings clipped.

© 2020 AFP