Nayacalevu calls on players to keep on fighting to the end
The Flying Fijians are more c o n c e r n e d about playing Portugal first rather than focusing on the Rugby World Cup (RWC) quarterfinal.
This was the gist of Flying Fijians head coach Simon Raiwalui’s post-match press conference after their 17-12 win over Georgia at the Stade de Bordeaux in France yesterday (Fiji time).
“I’m just worried about Portugal coming up as we got to take care of business and prepare well and put out a performance because if we look past that match; we’re going to slip over,” he said.
“We have to really knuckle down; make sure the preparation this week is nailed.
“We make sure that we do the right things to come out and play our best performance against Portugal.”
The wily coach said Georgia played well and pressured the Flying Fijians in every aspect of play where they (Fiji) lost the ball during contact, lineout throws were not spot on and they weren’t clinical enough to execute their moves.
Trailing 9-0 at the end of the first half Raiwalui said the message at halftime to the players was to get back to basics.
“Hold on to the ball, get to the advantage line and get some points,” he added.
However, Raiwalui highlighted that the Flying Fijians ability to stay calm when under pressure, getting back (to the game) with tries so they could stay within the game, is a sign of the team’s growth.
“There was no hectic passing of the ball and if anxious we would not make the comeback.”
Flying Fijians captain Waisea Nayacalevu said after the game, he reiterated to the players the importance of fighting to the end.
“To be honest we didn’t perform to our best (against Georgia),” he said.
Meanwhile, Raiwalui was asked by the media on whether he will start Frank Lomani in the match against Portugal.
“Frank Lomani has lots of experience but we’ll select the best available team we have. We’ll select accordingly.
Lomani and Simone Kuruvoli have been sharing the No.9 spot while Peni Matawalu is yet to get a run.
When asked, Nayacalevu said he had confidence in the three halfbacks on the team.
The Fiji, Portugal clash kicks-off at 7am, next Monday.
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