Simon Raiwalui, the coach of the Fijian national rugby team, has gone viral for showing off what sports is all about - respect.
Shocking the rugby world, Portugal beat Fiji 24 - 23 after a last-second try to take home their first-ever World Cup win.
As Portugal was celebrating in the locker room after the match, Raiwalui kindly rocked up to congratulate them and gift them a bag of the Fijian playing kit.
“I just wanna say congratulations,” he said before handing them the bag. “Well deserved today.”
The humble gesture has been hailed as a display of the spirit of rugby.
“Love this!” one person commented on TikTok. “It’s why we love the game.”
“This is why rugby is a class above the rest,” another said.
“A great show of respect,” a third added. “I believe there is no other sport in the world that respects their game, referees, opponents, coaches etc.. and it does follow with the supporters!”
“Thank you very, very much,” a Portuguese fan wrote. “Best of luck in the Championship. Go Fiji!!!”
As the last comment points out, despite losing their final pool game, Fiji still qualified for the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup (knocking out Australia in the process). They will be playing England on Monday the 16th of October at 4 AM (NZT) for the chance to make it to the Rugby World Cup semi-final for the first time ever.
This year is the first time they’ve made the elimination stages since 2007, when they lost 37 - 20 to the eventual champions, South Africa.
The other quarter-finals include two heavyweight matchups: South Africa vs France and New Zealand vs Ireland, as well as Argentina vs Wales.
Hopefully, the positive spirit of their coach will have the rugby Gods smiling on Fiji come early Monday morning.
