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RWC: Australia v Fiji - 23 September 16:45, Millenium Stadium(24 September 1:45 AEST)

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Sully

Sully

Tim Horan (67)
Staff member
The_Brown_Hornet said:
If we're fair dinkum about being a top tier side and getting out of our group, let alone winning the comp, we need to play our best XV and win handsomely against Fiji. I want to see an utterly ruthless performance and taking every single point on offer. We don't want to give Fiji even a sniff. You can be sure England won't be and will grind them into the turf in the first game.
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I'd be happy with 1point.
 
qwerty51

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
Fiji's 2nd choice 10 is Ben Volavola and 1st choice LH is Campese Ma'afu.

Their most recent match with a tier 1 side was against France. They lost by 25. When they lost to France they got dominated in every single scrum. If you think they'll compete up front in the tight 5 with Australia or England you're in for a shock. The main difference between tier 1 & 2 sides is the tight 5.

You're reading too much into victories over tier 2 sides.

Which Fijians would make the Wallabies XV? I'd probably take 2, Nadolo and Matawalu.

They're on par with Samoa and lost to the Barbarians and NZ Maori. They beat Japan by 5, USA 6 and Tonga 8 recently.

The tight 5 players:

Campese: English 2nd division
Koto: French 2nd division
Saulo: Romanian domestic league
Ratuniyarawa: Agen
Nakarawa: Glasgow
 
RugbyReg

RugbyReg

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
our first choice 10 is Bernard Foley.

Who knows who our first choice 12 is, but it could be Matt Giteau. Dean Mumm could be our 2nd choice lock. Maybe Will Skelton is? Drew Mitchell one of our top two wings.

It's all relative.
 
Groucho

Groucho

Greg Davis (50)
The_Brown_Hornet said:
If we're fair dinkum about being a top tier side and getting out of our group, let alone winning the comp, we need to play our best XV and win handsomely against Fiji. I want to see an utterly ruthless performance and taking every single point on offer. We don't want to give Fiji even a sniff. You can be sure England won't be and will grind them into the turf in the first game.
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Grind is the right word. Fiji are a dangerous side. England are going to have to be careful or they could see three quick tries scored against them.
 
Omar Comin'

Omar Comin'

Chilla Wilson (44)
qwerty51 said:
Their most recent match with a tier 1 side was against France. They lost by 25.
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No it was against Wales a week later and they lost 17-13. I also think you can pretty much include Samoa as a tier 1 team and they were very impressive against them in the final of the PNC (Pacific Nations Cup).

Outside of world cups Fiji have a lot less time together at full strength than tier 1 teams. Their preparation for games is almost always poor. But it isn't now. And Fiji's scrum might have been dominated by the French scrum, but so was England's recently. Their scrum matched Japan's in the PNC (Pacific Nations Cup), which had parity with Georgia's last week.

Their props might not be top level players but they aren't bad scrummagers. And outside of their front row they're all top level club players. If Matawalu gets injured they're a bit screwed, and to a lesser extent Matavesi, but with the starters on the field they're quality. Underestimate them at your peril.
 
S

saulityvi

Syd Malcolm (24)
Wales had alot of 2nd string players in that game and we all know how much depth they have.

Edit: in the 23-17 win last november
 
Groucho

Groucho

Greg Davis (50)
Omar Comin' said:
I think the amount of Fijians that would make the Wallabies is similar to the amount of Wallabies that would make the All Blacks.

Just like we have a chance against the All Blacks they have a chance against us.
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The old "number of Wallabies" refrain is based purely on the fact that we lose. After a win or two the number changes. If we consistently win we can start saying "Richie Macwho?". Of course the same applies to Fiji.
 
Viking

Viking

Mark Ella (57)
Omar Comin' said:
I think the amount of Fijians that would make the Wallabies is similar to the amount of Wallabies that would make the All Blacks.

Just like we have a chance against the All Blacks they have a chance against us.
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More like Scotland against the All Blacks.

Lots of our Wallabies would be 2nd or 3rd choice in the All Blacks Squad. Some of those Fiji tight 5 players wouldn't be 6-7th choice in the wallabies.
 
Braveheart81

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
I don't think anyone is being overconfident or cocky about playing Fiji. Everyone realises they are a threat and we need to play well and show them respect.

I think expecting our best side to play well and win comfortably is also a realistic opinion about the match. They will be coming off a short turnaround after a bruising game and we should be a much better team. We will have our best side on the park after a strong build up where we've trained very hard and then tapered to be fresh for this match.

We have an experienced side who should be more accustomed to playing on this sort of stage than the Fijians.
 
Omar Comin'

Omar Comin'

Chilla Wilson (44)
Seb V said:
More like Scotland against the All Blacks.

Lots of our Wallabies would be 2nd or 3rd choice in the All Blacks Squad. Some of those Fiji tight 5 players wouldn't be 6-7th choice in the wallabies.
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The front row you're right but the 2nd row are quality. Nakarawa would start for the Wallabies IMO. He's a type of player we don't have - a very athletic, skilful lock. The other one, Tevita Cavubati is a strong, big player that's good in the set piece. He's not out of his depth. Even the front row aren't bad. The tighthead playing in Romania has been very strong. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets signed by a decent club after the tournament.

There's some talk that Fiji may rest a few guys against us. If that happens then we'll probably win pretty comfortably. Would be interesting to see a guy like Ben Volavola play against us.
 
Viking

Viking

Mark Ella (57)
I like the sound of Nakarawa although haven't seen him play before.

My view on Fiji is that they always have a couple of world class players, a handful of competitive solid players, and then a couple of players who are barely professional and are just filling in.

It's certainly a diverse group in terms of player capabilities and those danger men are always a worry.
 
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