It will be an all or nothing performance for the Vodafone Flying Fijians when they take on Japan in the World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup in Toronto, Canada, on Thursday.

Head coach John McKee made the comment after the Vodafone Flying Fijians drew 30-30 with Manu Samoa in Sacramento last Saturday.

He is expecting not only a tough game but also a fast paced one and will need to plan their strategies properly if they want a win against Japan.

“Japan plays a very fast game so our defence will have to work very hard to contain their speedy players,” McKee said.

“In defence they rush up very quickly to shut down the attack.

“We will need to work on our strategy to deal with this to ensure we go forward and win quick ball in attack.

“Japan lost to USA but rested some of their top players so I expect them to field a stronger team against us on Thursday.

“It is all on the line in this game for us as well as Japan. We need to win to get into the playoff for first place on August 3 in Vancouver.”

McKee was happy with the performance that the players put on against Samoa but said there are still areas that they can improve on.

“We did some very good things against Samoa in attack but could not close the game out,” he said.

“The first half particularly was very pleasing with very good support play and multi-phase attack. Our exiting from our own half was better than the week before against Tonga but we will need to improve again for the next game against Japan.

“Our penalty count was too high and we need to improve this area (ruck and offside infringements) as it allows the opposition to get back into the game.”

The team arrived in Toronto at 1pm yesterday and players have suffered some “bumps and bruises” from the physical game against Samoa. But McKee has assured that nothing is serious.

The Vodafone Flying Fijians will play Japan at 10am Fiji Time on Thursday at BMO Field, Toronto.

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