Fijians want more top-level exposure

– Fiji bowed out of the World Cup leaving a blueprint for putting Six Nations champions Wales under pressure and highlighting the need for more Tests against the Tier 1 nations.

The free-running Pacific islanders are always popular crowd-pleasers with their audacious off-loads and while they failed to make the final eight in Japan they were not far off despite limited preparation.

They pushed Wales all the way, leading 10-0 after eight minutes and were 17-14 up with 20 minutes remaining before a late 15-point surge saw Warren Gatland’s men come out on top 29-17.

With limited preparation compared to the top-ranking sides,

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Fiji coach John McKee conjured up a “constant attack” game plan.

“We knew we wouldn’t win an arm wrestle or a penalty shoot out with them, so we had to back ourselves to score tries. You saw we took scrums or kicked to the corner,” McKee said.

The first of their three tries came from a backline move after taking a scrum instead of a penalty close to the Wales line.

And they won a penalty try in the second half when Wales collapsed a lineout drive after Fiji kicked for the corner.

“We chanced our arm a little bit and backed our attacking play, to see if we could put them under pressure to see how they reacted,” McKee said.

“For large parts of the game, that worked very well for us.”

Just as they dominated Wales for much of the game, the free-spirited Fijians started the tournament racing to a 21-12 lead against Australia before wilting to lose 39-21.

They also suffered an upset loss to Uruguay and beat Georgia.

Fiji, a Tier 2 team, played 27 Tests which included only 10 against Tier one nations and their hastily cobbled together outfit still managed wins against France, Scotland and Italy.

“Coming to the World Cup, it’s a big factor when you don’t play so many Tier 1 Test matches, the uplift in intensity is difficult to go with,” McKee said. –