‘It's good that Fiji played against a structured team earlier in the tournament’.
Those were the words of former Flying Fijians coach and former Wallabies flanker Ilivasi Tabua ahead of the Digicel Fiji sevens team quarterfinal match against Samoa this afternoon.
Tabua said the Australians tested the Fijians run of play and also uncovered a few critical areas that needs to be fixed before meeting a fired up Samoan side whose confident after beating England last night.
Tabua added that Fiji's defense has to come up quickly instead of waiting for the Samoans to come at them.
The Digicel Sevens team will now meet neighbors Samoa at 2:20pm today in the quarter finals of the Gold Coast sevens after Fiji lost their last pool game to hosts Australia 15-14 last night.
The Aussie Thunderbolts scored three unconverted tries while Joji Ragamate and Alipate Ratini touched down for Fiji.
Fiji gave away penalties in the tackle ball area while the kick offs and missed tackles are an area of concern going into the knockout stages today.
Australian captain Ed Jenkins told IRB.com that it was a brave effort from his side.
Last year Fiji lost in the pool game to New Zealand but later beat them in the final.
The national team defeated Scotland 31-14 and Tonga 35-7 in pool play.
If Fiji beats Samoa in the quarterfinal then they will meet either South Africa or France in the semifinals.
Meanwhile England will not feature in the cup quarterfinals as they were beaten by Samoa 19-17 which leaves Kenya as the runners up from that pool.
New Zealand were also beaten 31-21 by South Africa who looks to be the form team after the day one of competition.
Looking at the quarterfinals today, South Africa will play France at 1:58pm, Fiji faces Samoa at 2:20pm, New Zealand and Argentina will meet at 2:42pm while Australia battles Kenya at 3:04pm.
The semifinal will start at 5:58pm while the cup final will kick off at 9:02pm.
Story by: Akuila Cama
Fiji to meet Samoa in quarters
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