The Flying Fijians beat Scotland 51-26 to record their first Test win in 1998 and followed it up 27-22 in 2017. Both Test matches were played in Suva.
Flying Fijians (left-right) Sam Matavesi, Frank Lomani and Luke Tagi during training in Cardiff, Wales, on November 12, 2024. Photo: FRU Media
The Flying Fijians could be playing a Test match here against Scotland in next year’s July Test matches.
This was hinted by Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend during an interview with the Edinburgh Evening News.
Townsend revealed the Scotland men’s national rugby team is planning a 2025 summer tour of the South Seas, which is likely to involve at least one Test match in Fiji.
The Scots opened their Autumn Nations Test Series with a 57-17 win over the Fijians at Murrayfield last month and ended with victory against Australia last weekend. However, this would be the first time they have faced Fiji on their home patch since 2017.
“The summer tour that we are organising is to go to the South Seas,” said Townsend.
“So you’ll have to get World Rugby to say that. Fiji, we believe, is definitely one of the games. And we’re trying to add another game as well, whether that’s in New Zealand or in the Islands. So it’s meant to be two tests.
“We are looking at whether we can play a third or even a fourth game, just to build on what we did last summer, giving more players a chance to play, which we thought was a real success, playing those four games last summer.”
The Flying Fijians beat Scotland 51-26 to record their first Test win in 1998 and followed it up 27-22 in 2017. Both Test matches were played in Suva.
Also, the proposed Scotland Test could be after the Flying Fijians warm-up Test match against the Wallabies at the McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, Australia, on July 6, 2025. That is three weeks before the Wallabies play the first Test against the British & Irish Lions.
Asked if one of those Test matches (apart from Fiji) could be against the All Blacks, Townsend answered: “No, probably a midweek game. You can work out who that could be.”
Townsend, who served as the Lions side’s attack coach in South Africa in 2021, has said he is yet to speak to head coach Andy Farrell about the possibility of linking up with them in 2025 and wouldn’t be drawn on whether or not it was an opportunity he would be interested in.
“He (Farrell) is still the Ireland coach. I think now is the time where he moves on from Ireland next week and becomes Lions coach.
“So no, there’s not been any contact. We’ll see. The focus is on Six Nations and Scotland. And also we have a tough tour as well. Fiji in the summer is going to be a very tough game against a team who are also in the top eight in the world,” Townsend added.
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