KEY POINTS:
As Nicky Little lay deliberately still on the Nantes turf, resting his wrenched knee and surely fearing that his World Cup was over no matter what the result of Fiji's thriller against Wales, you immediately thought back to a scene in Christchurch a few hours earlier.
Nantes was
a place of ironic contrasts. It was a Welshman, the little wing Shane Williams, who indulged in a premature dive of celebration in scoring, much as Fijians have so often been the fallen showmen of world rugby. And it was the Fijians who found composure under pressure and burrowed over for the most British of winning tries.
The joy of Fiji's stirring, historic, pulsating win over Wales has already been tempered, knowing they face South Africa in the quarter-finals. Fiji will go no further - the South African scum and lineout will see to that. The Springboks will crush the life out of this Fijian team, and even more so if the not-so-little Little isn't providing a semblance of order, and no small amount of muscle, in the No 10 jersey.
Hours before Fiji's great victory, Isa Nacewa had played one of his finest matches for Auckland in a superb Ranfurly Shield/Air New Zealand Cup triumph over Canterbury. Auckland, with a Polynesian core, smashed Canterbury, the last European rugby stronghold in this country, with a series of tackle blitzes. It was an Auckland performance of the highest order, and Canterbury only kept the margin down thanks to officiating, which allowed them a free hand, and strangely angled entrance points at rucks and mauls and a generous offside line.
The player in charge of Auckland's demolition job was Nacewa. The utility back was mainly calm, thoughtful and superb at first five-eighths, and struck to great effect when choosing to run.
By rights, Nacewa should be in France helping to orchestrate Fiji's World Cup campaign. He has a rugby nous that would be absolutely precious to the flamboyant, athletic Fijians. The complicated plight of Pacific Islands rugby is summed up by the Nacewa story.
Much as Northern Hemisphere rugby loves to portray the All Blacks as village raiding heavies, it is the natural lure of the black jersey which is the major hindrance to the progress of Pacific Island test rugby. Rugby's professional contract system in this country also plays a part, though.
The Auckland-born Nacewa has already played for Fiji at a World Cup. His one test appearance came in the final minutes of their heart-breaking pool game loss to Scotland in Sydney four years ago. Inexplicably, he has reportedly tried to have that appearance annulled so he can be All Black-eligible.
It is inexplicable on two counts. First, Nacewa is an unlikely All Black test regular, although the way the black jersey is doled out these days he would be very likely to get to don it, if only for a week or two.
But his position is most inexplicable on this count - the IRB has, quite rightly, ruled that players can no longer hop between test teams.
Gone are the days of murky switches, including the case of the Niuean Frank Bunce, who was able to quit Samoa for a 55-test career with the All Blacks. Nacewa's stance has cut him out of the Fiji picture for now. Maybe he is trying to enhance his professional future in this country where the New Zealand Rugby Union aims its contract money at All Black-eligible players.
Yet how on earth does Nacewa believe his attempt at test realignment will succeed? If he has a legitimate case and this isn't some contract-enhancing manoeuvre by his management, we've yet to be informed of it. On the surface, it is a pointless, hopeless cause.
The Fiji Times reported that when they tried to approach Nacewa on his World Cup hopes, an Auckland rugby spokesman replied that it was "unfair" for the player to be pressured into commenting on his future.
Unfair on what grounds, you might ask. The people of rugby-mad Fiji in particular have every right to know what his intentions are.
There should be no get-out clause here. International rugby is all the better for more clearly defined boundaries and allegiances, even if it does disadvantage the Pacific Island countries at times. Maybe in the long run it could help them, but only if their players' fascination with playing for the All Blacks is broken down. Which is a mighty big if. So Nacewa has apparently, and unfortunately, planted himself in test no-man's land.
As well as Nacewa played in Christchurch, by yesterday morning there was a sense of sadness that his 2003 World Cup appearance was apparently one of convenience, that it didn't lead to greater things for the player or a national team that, not for the want of trying, he can't leave behind.
New Zealand rugby turns itself upside down and inside out in the name of World Cup glory yet here was a player starring in the very heart of this country's domestic game who should, instead, be playing on the world stage for an impoverished rugby nation which desperately needs him. There are no easy answers to promoting Pacific Islands rugby, but the IRB and other power brokers must continue to seek, and eventually they should find.
Auckland were fantastic in Christchurch, and the strong Polynesian nature of the team was there for all to see. You had to wonder if at least some of the players should have been starring on foreign fields. In particular, observing Nacewa at the centre of this Shield action was an invitation to at least cringe a little.