Fearless Fiji eye Green and Gold scalp
Fiji made three changes to their run-on side to face South Africa in Wellington on Saturday, with coach Sam Domoni saying the Pacific islanders would not be daunted by the reigning world champions.
Domoni said his current side was “much stronger, wiser and knowledgeable” than the Fiji team which gave the Springboks a fright in the quarterfinals in France four years ago.
“We respect them but that doesn’t mean we limit our expectation of what we’re capable of executing on Saturday,” he said.
“We’ve seen a few things where we can maximise the team’s performance and it should be a very good, exciting game,” said the Fiji boss.
Domoni said he expected the Springboks to step up a level after their hard-fought 17-16 win over Wales but warned Fiji were also capable of finding another gear after battling to overcome Namibia 42-25.
The Fijian coach named 29-Test hooker Sunia Koto in the starting line-up, also bringing in flank Akapusi Qera and No.8 Masi Matadingo.
He said his side, known as “the flying Fijians”, would stick to their trademark entertaining brand of rugby but had taken some pointers from the way Wales contained South Africa last weekend.
“We certainly wouldn’t approach it from the Welsh direction, we’ll approach it from our point of view. But we’ve seen a few weaknesses there that we can expose and we’ve worked on that this week,” he said.
Captain Deacon Manu said Fiji would need strength in the forwards, as well as their customary dash, to match the physical South Africans.
“One of our strengths as the flying Fijians is to keep the ball in hand and look to play rugby,” he said. “That’s not going to change regardless of our opposition and the size of them.
“We’ll look to play and express ourselves but we’ve got to make sure in the forward pack we stand up and match them physically, mentally and tactically,” explained the Fijian skipper.
Manu said Fiji was not being lulled into a false sense of security by the Springboks’ long casualty list, which has ruled stalwarts such as Victor Matfield, Jean de Villiers and Bryan Habana out of Saturday’s match.
“In some ways it’s irrelevant,” he said. “If you look at their 30-man squad for the World Cup, they have strength and depth in a lot of positions… we’ve got to make sure we’re firing on all cylinders if we want to challenge them.”
Fiji: 15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Gaby Lovobalavu, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Naipolioni Nalaga, 10 Waisea Sedre Luveniyali, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Sakiusa Matadigo, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Dominiko Maiwiriwiri Waqaniburotu, 5 Wame Lewaravu, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Deacon Manu (captain), 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Campese Ma’afu.
Replacements: 16 Telemaitoga Dautu Tuapati, 17 Waisea Nailago, 18 Netani Edward Talei, 19 Sisa Koyamaibole, 20 Vitori Tomu Buatava, 21 Nicky Little, 22 Gaby Lovobalavu.
Date: Saturday, September 17
Venue: Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 18.00 (06.00 GMT)
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
TMO: Matt Goddard (Australia)
