Vodafone Flying Fijians captain Akapusi Qera said the squad is bonding well in their three –day camp in Toulouse,France.

“The team is really gelling well on and off the field, which is really positive and it’s really showing in all the training sessions,” Qera said.

“I am happy with the progress and leaders in the team coming out and pushing the standards for the others to follow.”

The team is scheduled to have a session against Georgia today before the professional players return to their clubs in the afternoon to prepare for their next round of games this weekend.

The Vodafone Flying Fijians will play the first game on the November Tour against the Barbarians on November 11 in Belfast Ireland.

“Team assembly is always a huge challenge for the November Tests taking into consideration the range in the location of top players,” Vodafone Flying Fijians head coach John McKee said.

“This camp is very beneficial in terms of preparation for our November Tour.  It is an opportunity to get the players together and focused on our game plan and systems.  With players at so many different clubs it is important to get everyone on the same page in terms of the Vodafone Flying Fijians Game Plan.”

Regardless of the variations in player-location and destination the team has settled in well with 80 per cent of the players attending the camp and to date have gone through three training sessions at Blagnac Rugby Club grounds.

“It is good to see the players gel so quickly.  One of the strengths of the Fijian team is their pride in representing Fiji and all the people back home, this really pulls the team together.

“The players have quickly adapted to some changes we have introduced to the game plan.”

“We have six boys that play in our domestic competition that have been involved with the Telecom Fijian Warriors in 2016 on tour with us and they have all been adapting well to the sessions.  Players like Eremasi Radrodro, Joeli Veitayaki and Serupepeli Vularika have been introduced to the Vodafone Flying Fijians environment and are very much aware of the expectations and the demands of Test rugby.

“Next week we will focus in on the specifics for our game against the Barbarians and ensuring we are fully prepared to start our campaign with a very good performance in Belfast.”

The Vodafone Flying Fijians will arrive in Belfast on November 5.

The Fijian players in the Barbarians side are Taqele Naiyaravoro and Setareki Tamanivalu.

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