FIJI HAVE targeted one win from their matches against Scotland and Ireland, so, having lost in Murrayfield last Saturday, the maths ahead of their match in the RDS tomorrow are fairly simple.
That said, their new technical advisor-cum-forwards coach, Mike Brewer, has little doubt the challenge facing them is altogether tougher than it was against his former Scotland team.
Brewer – the former Leinster and Scotland forwards coach who will thus be revisiting another old haunt tomorrow – was then asked why?
“Better team.”
Where exactly?
“Excluding the scrum, one to 15,” he said, chuckling to himself and raising a chuckle from head coach Glen Ella alongside him.
Ella paid particular tribute to the “fantastic Irish lineout, and that’s an area where they’re stronger than the Scottish”.
This is a particular concern to the Fijian coaches, given their setpieces against the Scots.
Surprisingly, Brewer said the Fijians would have preferred to face Cian Healy than Tom Court, “because Tom is quite a destructive prop – he’s scrummaging pretty well at the moment.
“It’s a big challenge for us,” he added. “We know we let ourselves down in Scotland last week. We know our set-piece ball was not good enough. When we did have a little bit of stability the odd time, we cut open the Scottish team.
“Most teams are looking at about 90 per cent as far as their set-piece ball is concerned, and then trying to get between 65 and 80 per cent of usable ball. Our aim is to try and get 65-70 per cent of set-piece ball, with 50 per cent of it usable. That’s the target we set ourselves on tour. On Saturday, we were down below the 33 per cent mark, compared to Scotland’s 90 per cent .”
Thus, to lose by only 13 points was both a tribute to Fiji’s resilience and an indictment of Scotland’s creativity, and Brewer believes the Fijians’ preparation this week “is 200 per cent better than it was last week. In training, there’s more shape. That’s familiarisation with each other.”
The five changes they have made to the team which lost 23-10 to Scotland would not appear to have noticeably improved things. Scarlets’ tighthead Deacon Manu, who Brewer said was their man of the match on his debut against the Scots, has not travelled due to complications with his wife’s pregnancy. They’ve also lost flanker Josefa Domolailai to the broken ankle he sustained at Murrayfield. He’s replaced by Gloucester’s Apolosi Stala.
The problems they had on the loosehead side of the scrum and at fullback see changes there, with the France-based pair of Asaiki Tarogi and Norman Ligairi coming in. However, as part of an attempt to improve relations with French clubs, winger Napolioni Nalaga has been released back to Clermont Auvergne, but they have retained their captain and his Clermont team-mate Seremaia Bai.
In the heel of the hunt, they are missing nine or 10 European-based players, most with French clubs, due to difficulties in obtaining their release. This has left the flying Fijians especially short-changed up front, though another who had problems obtaining his “visa” was their brilliant winger, Montpellier’s Willem Delasau. Ulster’s Timoci “Jimmy” Nagusa is on the bench.
The team contains four home-based players, three of whom made their debuts against the Scots. The other, hooker Viliame Vaikoso, is set to follow against Ireland.
“There’s a massive gap between playing domestic rugby in Fiji to even coming up to the level of training,” Brewer admitted, “because the European-based players are at a far higher level of intensity and accuracy in training.
“But, in all honesty, we were targeting the Scottish game and we’ve fallen down, so we want to win one of the two games.”
FIJI(v Ireland, RDS, tomorrow, 5pm): Norman Ligairi (La Rochelle); Vereniki Goneva (Colomiers), Gabiriele Lovobalavu (Toulon), Seremaia Baikeinuku (Clermont), Nasoni Roko (Naitasiri, Fiji); Nicky Little (Bath), Mosese Rauluni (Saracens); Asaike Tarogi (AS Roanne), Viliame Veikoso (Nadi, Fiji), Viliame Seuseu (Nadi), Wame Lewaravu (Parma), Ifereimi Rawaqa (Fighting Bulls, Japan), Apolosi Satala (Gloucester), Akapusi Qera (Gloucester), Asaeli Boko (Nadroga, Fiji). Replacements: Isireli Ledua (Northland, Fiji), Graham Dewes (Manakau, Nzl), Leone Nakarawa (Suva, Fiji), Samu Bola (Suva), Waisale Vatuvoka (Naitasiri), Josh Matavesi (Exeter), Timoci Nagusa (Ulster).
