Vereniki Goneva believes it will be ‘anybody’s game’ when he and his Fijian teammates take on hosts England in the Rugby World Cup opener at Twickenham on September 19.

The Pacific island nation began their competitive countdown to the tournament in disappointing fashion last Saturday, when they allowed the Maori All Blacks to fight back from 26-10 down to win 27-26 at ANZ Stadium.

Yet, their Tiger in midfield took encouragement from a storming display in the first half and the dangerous attacking potential within the Fijian ranks.

Goneva was outstanding as the hosts scored three tries before the break and that opening half gave him hope that, with time to fine tune during the forthcoming Pacific Nations Cup campaign, his country are able to challenge England and their other leading Pool A rivals.

“A lot of us just came together a few weeks ago and this was our first game together this year,’ said the 31-year-old. ‘We were unlucky that we lost but we have got a few more games in front of us before we get to the World Cup. We can improve a lot.

“We have a good squad, a lot of good players and we just have to learn from this game and build on it. We will have a lot of time together to prepare for the World Cup and I know that we can become a very strong team.’

Looking ahead to Fiji’s showdown with Stuart Lancaster’s national team, Goneva added: ‘It is going to be a huge game and we know that England are a very strong Tier One side. They are going to be ready for us, but it is anybody’s game and it is going to be exciting.

‘We’ll be playing in front of a lot of fans, against teammates from our clubs and we’re looking forward to it. I hope we can win. We have very good players and we can keep improving, so we will be confident against England.’