Recovery important ahead of Scotland match: coach Cunningham
Fijiana XV will match Scotland on Sunday (1:45am)
Tuesday 26 August 2025 | 04:00
Fiji’s Nunia Daunimoala breaks with the ball whilst under pressure from Caroline Crossley of Canada during their Women’s Rugby World Cup Pool B match at the York Community Stadium on August 23, 2025 in York, England
Photo: Morgan Harlow/World Rugby
Playing against Scotland in their second Pool B match is going to be a different challenge for the Fijiana XVs side.
Head coach Ioan Cunningham made these comments following their, 65-7, loss against Canada in their Women’s Rugby World Cup opener in York, England on Sunday morning.
Despite the loss, Cunningham was proud of how they scored their lone try against the world’s number two.
“We watched a little of their (Scotland’s) game against Wales, obviously very good out wide, scoring some great tries, solid defensively and a different type of kicking game,” Cunningham told the media at the post-match press conference.
“We’re going to be challenged differently, but our challenge is to hold on to the ball and we can trouble Scotland.”
The two side will play at 1:45am on Sunday (Fiji Time) and Cunningham said their programme for this week was crucial.
“It’s really important we recover, both physically and mentally. There’s a lot of effort going into a test match,” he said.
“The next 24 hours will be key for us to recover, and then we’ll start to look at reviewing this game, what we learned, what we can do better, and then go into the Scotland match.”
Captain and flanker Alfreda Fisher added they needed to improve on their defence and discipline against the Scots after prop Bulou Vasuturaga was shown a red card against Canada and will not miss the remaining pool matches.
Feedback: sereana.salalo@fijisun.com.fj
