Mick ‘The Kick’ Byrne lives in Fiji these days, but back in the 2002/03 season, he spent time in Dublin as part of Matt Williams’ Leinster backroom team.
As he returns to the city in his first season as Fiji head coach, having joined from the Pacific Islanders’ Super Rugby outfit, the Fijian Drua, Byrne plans to meet some old friends after Saturday’s game against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
“The thing about the Irish is that you might not see each other for 20 years but it is like we just saw each other last week,” the well-travelled Aussie with Wicklow roots smiled.
“I’m looking forward to catching up with some familiar faces. It was great times, and just being here again brings back those memories.”
Byrne is a world-renowned skills and kicking coach, who worked in Scotland, Saracens, New Zealand, Japan, the Blues, Australia and Canada before arriving in Fiji three years ago.
The 65-year-old has seen it all, yet there is excitement about the potential of this Fiji team, whose development is centred around the need to have more games against elite opposition.
“It’s one of the things for us that we need to see more of. I think when Simon [Raiwalui] was here last year, he said the more we can play Tier 1 countries, the better off we are going to be,” Byrne said.
“This is our third Tier 1 team this year. We want to see more of it. It’s a great opportunity for us. When we come together in this programme, four weeks is a good opportunity against world-class opposition.
“You really find out about yourself, where you’re at, as a coaching staff and as a playing group. It’s been invaluable for us, this tour, and it’s really set us up for the future.
“I am optimistic. You see talks of the Nations Cup and things like that. Being spoken about as a team involved in that is really exciting.”
Harnessing the wondrous Fijian flair and embracing their culture has been a joy for Byrne, who has placed a big emphasis on the more nitty-gritty side of the game.
“Look, it’s been great for me personally,” he added. “I am living in Fiji full-time. I have been accepted there and brought into families. It’s just a great lifestyle. It enriches my life every day of the week. In the teams I have coached, you take the players to the side and teach them a little bit of offloading, we don’t have to teach that here! It’s a different level of coaching.
“The growth for us is our ability to curb our enthusiasm to throw the ball away and just get in there and clean out, be strong over the ball and take pride in our breakdown skills and our ball presentation.
“That growth has been significant over the last six months. The boys are really taking pride in recycling and presenting the ball, which is great for us.”