Scotland captain wary of Fiji ‘stardust’

Scotland captain John Barclay has warned his team-mates against ending a solid season on a sour note by underestimating a Fiji side boasting a “sprinkling of stardust”.

The Scarlets flanker had just finished the team’s final run at the ANZ Stadium in Suva, where they play this morning, and was still soaked from the sudden storm that had blown in.

“It has been a great tour so far,” he said. “We spoke at the start about what we wanted to achieve.

“Sometimes you can see it is the end of a team’s season by the way they perform but for us, this does not have that feeling of the last game.

“You can see the energy is there, we are enjoying training, being together and being on tour. We have enjoyed this whole season, there have been some highs, a few lows.”

Hooker Ross Ford will win his record-breaking 110th cap – overtaking Chris Paterson as Scotland’s most capped player – while centre Nick Grigg will make his debut.

“I’m sure there will be something organised to mark Ross’ record,” Barclay said. “We are trying to mark these occasions, make a big deal of these things. It is a huge occasion for everyone.

“We will do something for Nick Grigg as well, these things are marked, more within the group.

“People don’t really know what to expect. There are a couple of people who have played here before and there are a few who maybe have points to prove. It will be a long day.”

They have some experience of what to expect from the Fiji players, since many of them represent European clubs – lock Leone Nakarawa played with many of the Scotland side when he was at Glasgow.

“You have only to see their highlights and the players they have to know it will be a hard game,” said Barclay.

“The guys played with Leone and they have guys playing all over Europe. There is a sprinkling of stardust all over their team, so we have to be wary.”

Ross Ford: will become Scotland’s most capped player today.