Gavin Cummiskey talks to Simon Raiwalui before Sunday's final Test at Lansdowne Road
At the very least, rugby has brought Simon Raiwalui around the world. Born in Auckland but raised in Sydney, the 32-year-old lock won the first of 41 caps for Fiji against the All Blacks in 1997. With professionalism came the opportunity to leave Manly RFC and join Sale before a stint with Newport brought him to Saracens in 2003. They made him captain straight away.
Ten years in the northern hemisphere, Raiwalui notes his two children were born in Wales and England. Considering he has an Australian wife it's hard to know where the heart is. "Nah mate, Fiji. No question. I did learn my rugby in Australia but playing with these boys you pick up a thing or two."
Despite the captains of Tonga and Samoa also being on this unique Pacific Islands tour of the northern hemisphere, head coach Pat Lam had only one preference when it came to choosing a leader.
Someone had to bring a commanding presence to this free-spirited squad, especially considering the Islanders are constantly faced down by adversity. First, they had to gel three nations into one team. Then they needed to convince players not to depart mid-tour (their two global stars Rupeni Caucaunibuca and Semo Sititi have already flown the nest and there was another exodus last night.). It's a lottery whether the paymasters in France or England release their players.
Thankfully Alan Gaffney's Saracens buried their self-interest and allowed Raiwalui accept this honour. "Saracens have been brilliant. There are four of us in the squad. They have been nothing but supporters. I know a lot of clubs are putting their players under pressure, which is a shame really because with the tier one nations there is never a problem with going away to play for your country. It is an honour. That is one of the hard things for Pacific Island rugby."
What about keeping everyone happy? "The rugby might be a little different but we've got cultural similarities. We are all very family-based. Very team orientated. We blended straight away. It was more a case of building a rugby team in a week whereas other international teams have been training together all summer. That's Pacific Island rugby: you are always on the back foot to start off with.
"We've got guys who can replace him (Caucau). We've got Kameli Ratuvou, who is at Saracens with me and he has scored three tries on this tour. Then there is Lome Fa'atau. Pace to burn. Wing is not one of those spots we get overly worried about."
The midweek friendly against Harlequins never actually materialised and Lam had just days to prepare for a full-strength Wales in Cardiff. They lost by 18 points and then 12 in Murrayfield last week. The bulk of errors and scores coming in the first half.
"I think we have grown into both games. It's a matter of getting ball and doing the basics right. Sunday should be a good occasion. We know how good Ireland are at the moment, moving up to third in the world. It's going to be our toughest game. It's a huge honour for us to be involved in Lansdowne Road's last ever game so hopefully we can put on a good show for the Irish crowd."
