I’m an ex-prison warden dubbed the ‘Demolition Man’ and learned to play rugby with a coconut, I’ll end England’s dream
LEVANI Botia is the former prison warden they call the “Demolition Man” in France.
And the softly-spoken Fijian is out to put a giant wrecking ball through England’s World Cup hopes in Marseille on Sunday.
Botia, 34, is a local hero in La Rochelle, where he has played for nine years since leaving his job and homeland.
His threat is so serious that England’s shadow squad of back row men have been lining up to “play” like Botia in training this week.
And Botia knows nothing on earth would give more joy to his fellow countrymen than making the Red Rose wilt for the second time in a couple of months, following that shock triumph at Twickenham in August.
Botia said: “This is the game of a lifetime for us, the best moment.
“I think if you ask any Fijian, playing now or young kids back at home, everyone loves rugby. It’s the sport that runs through our blood.
“When we were kids at school, we loved it.
“But we didn’t always have a rugby ball, so we’d use anything – empty bottles, coconuts, anything, just to play rugby.
“The sport gave us a challenge every time because we watched our brothers who have been playing a few years when we were kids and we just all wanted to wear the white jersey as well and jump on the field.”
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The “Flying Fijians” were one dropped pass away from beating Wales in their opener, before sending Australia tumbling to a humiliating defeat.
But with a last eight place in their grasp for only the second time in the nation’s history – they lost a tight Marseille quarter-final to South Africa in 2007 – they stumbled past Georgia and then, incredibly, lost to Portugal, ending Australia’s tournament only on the head to head rule.
Botia, though, believes that the opportunity to make Fiji history will change all that, recalling his own unlikely journey to this point.
He said: “My province is Naitasiri in the middle interior of the island. They always said I’m from the bush, I’m from the mountains.
“I didn’t expect to be walking into a prison to work. It wasn’t my calling.
“Working in a prison is not simple. That’s obvious from the outside but inside it is difficult. “You’re dealing with people who have done something wrong, breaking the rules, the law. So it’s not easy when you are inside there.
“I played a game in the prison and the coach of the warden team found me a small club to play for.
“That was playing sevens and it wasn’t until 2013 and my first game for the Flying Fijians against Portugal that I played 15s.
“So I worked every day, to try to find the right path for me.
“Luckily, I got a contract to play in France. That was part of my dream when I was a kid. I saw Fijian players who had gone there who became big names around the world and in France as well.
“I expected to come over for a medical joker, just for three months. It was almost the end of the season, five games left.
“But they asked me to stay and I decided to leave the prison. I had to leave because I had the opportunity and I was excited to take it.
“And now, when I have hard times on the field, that experience in the prison is something I can look back on to encourage me to keep going.”
That he has taken to life in France it is shown by that “Demolition Man” nickname, while he is also known as “The Machine” for his destructive physicality and non-stop approach.
Botia smiled: “It’s not about me – it’s a team job. I don’t work alone and I just try to make a small difference to help the team to win.
“People say what I do on the field is hard, but nothing’s hard. Anyone can do that.
“You just need good technique. It’s not about size.”
With Fiji 10 hours ahead of France, the match will be kicking off at 3am on Monday morning but Botia knows the excitement will be fever-pitch even in the early hours.
He added: “When I was a kid we didn’t have mains electricity but we had a generator.
“So we took it to the mountain where we tried to find a reception to watch the TV.
“As I said, rugby goes through our blood, it does not matter your age. We just climbed the mountain. They are always behind the players when there’s a Fiji game.”