15s coach sets goal
IT may seem a tall order but Flying Fijians head coach Vern Cotter has set a high goal of winning one of the two Test matches against the All Blacks this month.
On paper, the All Blacks are outright favourites being ranked number two in the world behind leaders South Africa while Fiji is ranked 11th.
The results of the past five meetings between the two nations also do not favour Fiji having lost by 40 points or more.
Fiji went down to the All Blacks 13-74 in the first encounter in Christchurch in 1987.
The other losses were 5-71 in Albany in 1997, 18-68 in Wellington in 2002, 0-91 in Albany in 2005 and 14-60 in Dunedin in 2011.
Cotter said the two upcoming test matches were important in terms of their preparations for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
“It is exciting to play the All Blacks and we haven’t played them in 10 years,” he said.
“So we want to win one of those two games.
“Our objective is to win, but whatever happens and whatever the result will be, we will be stronger and better prepared for what comes next.”
Cotter said the results against the All Blacks will reflect on their status heading into the 2023 RWC.
“These matches will give vital feedback and messages for the players, for us as staff and for everybody to see where we are,” he said.
“It will give us the opportunity to see where we are situated and the rugby landscape two years out from the RWC. So it is exciting, and it is also going to be beneficial.”
The Flying Fijians will take on the All Blacks in Dunedin next Saturday.