Battle of forwards

The English forwards will not be easy to counter in Sunday's match says Flying Fijians head coach Senirusi Seru­vakula.

He has opted for a 6-2 split on the bench as he made several key changes on his starting line-up.

Fiji takes on England at lam (Sun­day) in their Nations Champion­ship round two match. The two sides have met eleven times with Fiji winning once, 38-18, during their Rugby World Cup warm-up match in 2023.

"We know, it's going to be a tough match against the English players so we need to keep the momentum going. So that's why we load the for­wards with a 6-2," Seruvakula said

yesterday.

"They're going to be very strong on the forwards. But we need to prepare well in our defence, in our attack and with discipline," he said.

"We need to do our set-piece with accuracy, with speed, that's the talk of the prep of the week."

Seruvakula named veteran Levani Botia at number eight, along seasoned loose forwards Peceli Yato and Lekima Tagitagivalu at blind and openside flanker, respectively.

Mesake Doge replaces injured Tim Hoyt while Tevita Ratuva pairs up with Isoa Nasilasila at locks.

Caleb Muntz returns to the side and starts at first five eight. Another change sees Vuate Karawalevu replace Selesitino Ravutaumada at wing while Kalaveti Ravouvou starts at centre as Semi Radradra i

Simione Kuruvoli also get the nod to start at halfbak while Frank Lomani is on the bench.

"We want to play our own brand of rugby. But first, important is our set-piece. We need to get posses­sion first, and then we can play our brand of rugby.

"I believe in these boys that they're going to perform well. We've learned a lot of lessons from last week. And we work on that dur­ing our prep this week.

"Going into this competition, any team can be beatable. But we just need to focus and do the little things right."

Mauger applauds championship

Assistant coach Aaron Mauger has declared that the Nations Championship presents the perfect platform for Fiji to continue its rise on the world rugby stage.

Speaking at a Black & Tie fundraiser event hosted by the Fiji Rug­by Union at St George's Place in Liverpool, Mauger reflected on the team's remarkable growth over the past five years. The event was held to raise funds for the Fiji Rakavi Foundation, an initiative supporting player welfare beyond retire­ment.

"A few years ago, Fiji was positioned in 12th position and now we are placed in amongst the top 10 in the world," Mauger said .

"This competition provides us with better opportunities to grow our game, and I look forward to the match this weekend."

The Flying Fijians currently sit at 9th in the World Rugby rankings.

Mauger emphasised that the Na­tions Championship allows Fiji to "continue to punch above its limits and play with the best in the world."

Fellow coach Seremaia Bai, who also addressed the audience of Fi­jian diaspora, dignitaries, and rep­resentatives from England Rugby, highlighted the significance of the team's UK tour.

"This is the first time for Fiji to travel during this period to the United Kingdom, and we will make the most of the opportunity," Bai said.