Go Fiji, go

THE stage is set for an exciting clash this evening in Dunedin, New Zealand when we take on the might of the All Blacks. Flying Fijians coach Vern Cotter has made no bones about how we are going to play this game.

There will be pressure. A lot of it, he says.

He knows the All Blacks have been trying out new combinations.

The idea is to disrupt the new combination.

If there is a chink he reckons we can exploit, it would have to be this.

Understandably the All Blacks go into the fixture on a high after demolishing Tonga 102-0 last week.

However, given the COVID-19 restrictions, and Tonga’s inability to get the lineup it wanted to play the All Blacks, we should leave that game aside as not a true indication of the Tongan strength.

That also will place pressure on sceptics talking about a huge gap in Pacific rugby and the rest of the world.

Cotter reckons the All Blacks had a good run against Tonga and they would be better off from the big result.

However, Cotter is pinpointing the All Blacks’ new combinations as a possible area to target.

Given the strength of the Kiwis, this certainly isn’t going to be a walk in the park.

“They have been trying some new combinations with Brodie Retallick coming into lock,” Cotter said.

“He is teaming up with Patrick Tuipulotu so they haven’t got confirmed combinations in their team.

“So there is an opportunity for us if we play well together to put them under pressure.”

He’s also banking on a dry ball to give us an advantage considering the match will be played “under the roof”.

So what can we expect today?

“We are going to play the Fijian brand of rugby, which suits us.

“We are not going to play anyone else’s rugby pattern,” Cotter says.

There will no doubt be interest focused on how we embrace the technicalities of good forward play, with the flair of Fijian rugby.

Given the fact that we have most of our key players available for the Test, unlike the Tongans, the challenge is how we handle pressure early on, and how we finish the test.

Emphasis will be on how our pack handles the world class All Blacks.

However, history will reassure us that our pack handled both England and Australia quite well, and rocked the hard Georgia and French packs.

Whatever happens today, we wish our men the very best against one of the world’s best sides.

We hope they will find their rhythm early. Go Fiji, go.