How to win possession

It might be ill-advised to repeat "Fat's" answer to gaining possession on the same day the Leinster Schools Senior cup draw is announced. "Fats," better known as Peter Fatialofa the Samoan great, revealed in the December edition of Rugby News the secret of the Islanders' devastating tackling.

The captain of the Samoan side that beat Wales in 1991 and advisor to this year's World Cup side, "Fats" says the big hits come as a result of lack of possession. Fiji just can't get the ball so instead they try to blow it out of the opposition.

"If we can't get the ball at the lineout, we have to get it somewhere else," he said. "Whether it's a turnover of a defensive tackle that creates an offensive situation. I think that's why we play the way we do, plus being islanders it's second nature to tackle. But from a rugby point of view, it's because we never get any ball."

Not quite the sophisticated philosophy of highbrow rugby academics, but interesting.