We have to believe in ourselves to beat the New Zealand Maori.
These are the words of South African based winger Sireli Naqelevuki ahead of Saturday's Pacific Nations Cup showdown.
Speaking to Fijivillage Sports, Naqelevuki said the visitors will be in for a surprise against a well prepared Fiji side.
"This week’s not going to be for them to come and thrash our team on home soil. We’re also looking forward to them and especially playing for the whole 80 minutes. We’re going to give a big score if we do well and believe in ourselves and I think it’s going to be a different side this weekend. And we look forward to playing good rugby and expansive rugby." Naqelevuki.
The Vabea lad from Kadavu believes that he has learnt alot playing in South Africa with some top players who won the Rugby World Cup.
"With South African games – there’s a lot of structures – not like New Zealand and like a lot of spreading the ball wide and individual skill. With South African structures there’s a lot of game plans and team work and that’s why South Africa is very different from other rugby nations." Naqelevuki.
Meanwhile New Zealand Maori team coach Donny Stevenson said they know what style of rugby to play against the Flying Fijians on Saturday.
"The Flying Fijians alright. We watched their game against Samoa and they were very strong. So we know what to expect from the Fijians – very fast, open style of rugby. So we’re conscious of not giving up too many opportunities especially around the counter-attack."
Ella Tips Flying Fijians over NZ Maori
Flying Fijian 15's back-line coach Glen Ella believes that the Fiji team is capable of beating the New Zealand Maori on Saturday in the second match of the Pacific Nations Cup.
After watching last weeks 34-17 win against Samoa, Ella knows his boys did not play to their full potential against Samoa but he expects them to push themselves to the limit against the visitors.
"I think we’ve got a lot to prove as well. In the first set out, one of the guys has come back so he's a bit jet lagged. I think we’ll be much better as well. Obviously this’ll be a tough game for the Maoris. They’re going to be tough in the forwards and in the backs as well. So we need to be on our game to beat the guys – but we’re capable of doing that." Ella.
Captain, Mosese Rauluni has warned his boys that they cannot afford to make any mistakes against the NZ Maori who have some former All Blacks in their line-up.
"The Maoris are going to be a very different team. That was quite a young Samoan side. A lot of inexperience there and we’ve got to pick ourselves up from that and get ready for a much tougher … and it’s going to be a couple of years harder than that game. The Maoris are all seasoned players who play Super 14 – they’ll be very tough and smart players." Rauluni.
NZ Maori Beatable
The New Zealand Maori can be beaten on Saturday.
That is the view of former Springboks World Cup winning coach Jake White who is helping the Flying Fijians for this week’s Pacific Nations Cup showdown.
After watching the Mosese Rauluni led side display open rugby last week against Samoa where two tries were scored when Fiji ran the ball from inside their own 22 metre line, White believes that Fiji is capable of upsetting the New Zealand Maori.
"Of course they can and that’s exactly their strength – they’ve got to keep sticking to what they believe in. They ran in the one try and not only that they did it in the first second after they just ran from their own 22 and I think every guy touched the ball and that just proves again how Fiji are. And that’s their strength. I think you’ve got to give credit to Ili (Tabua) because he just sticks to what Fiji are very good at. They haven’t gone out to be conservative, they play expansive rugby, they use every guy they can. One of the things I think Fiji rugby can be proud of. The last game that they played was against South Africa and that just shows they’ve just built on that. There was a lot of energy and excitement." White.
While the visitors boast some former All Blacks and top Super 14 players, White said Fiji has a lot of advantage on their side to win on Saturday.
"It’s going to be a tough game but, again the Fijians must take what they’ve got as an advantage. They’re playing at home. They’ve just come off a massive win. And also more importantly for Fiji is that they want to be competitive they know they just play this one game, if they win they can win the competition. So what more do you want? You just come up and ask when are you playing at home and you’ve got a full strength. So I’m sure Ili (Tabua) will be saying if we can win against the Maoris we can win the competition. So that, I suppose, is what everyone wants to do." White.
The Fiji/NZ Maori game will kick-off at 3pm on Saturday and you can catch the live commentary of the match on our sister radio station Viti FM.
