Scotland wary of Flying Fijians despite England defeat

Scotland centre Ollie Smith is well aware of the threat the Flying Fijians pose despite their heavy loss to England last Sunday.

The last time the two sides met at Murrayfield was in November 2024, where Scotland thrashed Fiji, 57-17 before Fiji avenged their loss in Suva in July last year.

The Flying Fijians won before their home fans, 29-14, at the HFC Bank Stadium.

Smith told The Scotsman they would not take Fiji lightly and is anticipating a physical, challenging Test final in their match of the Nations Championship.

“We see that (result against England) as a bit of an outlier,” Smith told The Scotsman.

“I definitely think we’re not treating that result as an indicator of what to expect this weekend.

“They’re obviously a very dangerous team. You saw what they did to us last summer when we played them over there. They put us to the sword. They’re a top-class team and they’ve done so well over the past few years.

“They’ve had some close results against some big teams. They nearly got themselves to a World Cup semi-final, I think, in 2023. They’re not to be taken lightly.”

He said Fiji was unlucky with Simione Kuruvoli’s red card which gave England an advantage; Kuruvoli has been given a four-match ban.

Smith added: “We’re not going to be delusional in the sense that we’re going to snuff everything out and they’re not going to get an offload or a line break; it’s how we respond off the back of that. So hustling back in defence if they get the better of us in certain areas. And also on the other side of the ball, sticking to our game plan and knowing where we can get the edge on Fiji and play our more style of rugby against them that plays in our favour.”

Vakatawa to debut

Senirusi Seruvakula has named two debutants on his side; former French international Virimi Vakatawa will start at centre while Isikeli Rabitu is expected to make his Flying Fijians debut off the bench.

Vakatawa replaces Kalaveti Ravouvou who is out for a concussion.

The interim head coach is confident of his side.

“As a head coach, I believe that they’re going to perform well,” he said yesterday.

“The message is just go out there and enjoy and keep to the process. The important thing is how we start, how we focus, how we play as a team and our set pieces have to improve a lot.

“We need to have pride on the jersey and give it all for the people back home and for their families and everyone who’s watching and supporting the Flying Fijians.”

The match kicks off at 1am on Sunday.