Campese: Good Oz Plays Fiji First
If Australia or Wales don’t turn up on the day they’re in trouble if Fiji do. The biggest problem Fiji have had in the past is they’ve not been good to go for the full 80 minutes. They would last 50 or 60 and blow up-David Campese David Campese has questioned whether Warren Gatland has a Plan B and if Wales are capable of changing tactics should they be forced to chase a game at the World Cup.
And he warned the Fiji Airways Flying Fijians could stun them in Pool D where they will also face Australia, Georgia and Uruguay. Campese echoed the words of another Wallaby great, outside-half Michael Lynagh, by stressing the Aussies are more “worried” about facing Fiji in their opening fixture of the tournament than what comes afterwards.
“Pool D is a tough one and I think we are lucky we have got Fiji first up,” said Campese.
“The smaller nations don’t have the same level of preparation matches as the top eight countries so it can take them time to get going.
“By the time Fiji face Wales (it’s their final match in the group) you’d expect them to be in the swing of it.
“If Australia or Wales don’t turn up on the day they’re in trouble if Fiji do.
“The biggest problem Fiji have had in the past is they’ve not been
good to go for the full 80 minutes. They would last 50 or 60 and blow up.
“That comes from not playing enough games against the big boys to get them up to speed. The World Cup is loaded against the smaller nations in that respect.
“If they had the same preparation as the major nations and all their top players were available to play for them rather than having been pinched by other countries it would be better for world rugby.” Campo said the European champions’ success story is based largely on defensive excellence.
“The Welsh are a team we have got to worry about. We know how Wales play – their defence is very good,” said one of rugby’s greatest entertainers of all-time. “They’re not about attack and the key to beating them is putting them under pressure.
“If you can break up their defence a bit and get some points on the board it will be interesting to see how they react.
Wales were crowned Six Nations Grand Slam kings during a record winning run which has seen them triumph in 15 of their last six fixtures to become the No.1 ranked team in the world for the first time in history.
But he pointed out the World Cup is a series of one-off matches, saying:
“You can’t worry about history, it’s the here and now that counts. “There are some good teams in it and I think it’s an open tournament which could come down to a refereeing decision or an injury,” Campese continued.
“We saw the effect the sending off of Welsh skipper Sam Warburton against France in the 2011 semifinals had on that match (Wales lost by a point) and Scott Barrett being red-carded for the All Blacks against Australia a couple of weeks ago with the Wallabies winning by a record score.”