Flying Fijians training ahead of their clash with England. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Iliesa Tora
England will be going all out to stop a Fijian repeat of victory against them when the two teams meet in the third quarterfinal at the Rugby World Cup in Marseille on Monday morning.
Winger Elliot Daly, while speaking at a press conference in Marseille on Thursday, said the team had discussed their loss to Fiji seven weeks ago and decided they were not going to let their guard down again.
He said defence is the key they are looking at against a Fijian side that can attack from anywhere on the field.
"They've got a little bit more of an offload threat than other teams. We want to shut that down as much as possible," he said.
"We looked at that Fiji game and we probably weren't where we wanted to be, and from that point we made a conscious decision within the group to really up our defence, to really be that team that people are scared to attack against.
"In the broad scheme in the last five or six games after that game, we've proved that. We just want to go one step further this weekend with that."
Fiji defeated England 30-22 at Twickenham in August as part of the their World Cup warm-up match.
English media focus on Botia
Interestingly, this week members of the English media in Marseille have been packing the Fijian team's press conferences and asking questions.
Focus has been on Levani Botia, the man England wants to shut down in the battle for possession around the breakdowns.
Big number eight Billy Vunipola had stated at a media conference this week that Botia is one player they have picked out as a key in the Fijians' armour.
Vunipola said the former inside centre is a winner and would be one of the key men that they will need to shut down.
Botia, speaking to the media at the Sofitel Hotel early on Friday, said he was humbled to be picked out but said he just wants to help his team with what he does on the field.
"Think what I have done on the field is not part of the game plan, it's just some small help I have," he said.
"So, I need to install in the game to help them team improve in the game."
Botia is expected to be named at number six again for the clash.
Graham Dewes, left, and Levani Botia at media conference in Marseille. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Iliesa Tora
Fijian set-pieces
England hooker Jamie George said they will need to target the Fijian lineout and stop them from winning possession and setting their pack moving.
"I think Fiji's set piece as a whole has got a lot better. I think the way Portugal targeted their line-out in particular was something that was very interesting and especially how they go about it," George said.
"We have got some complete line-out picks in our team. George Kruis coming in, a complete nous. A lot of their [Kruis and Steve Borthwick] conversations together are not necessarily fascinating, but they are going to become very important.
"We trust in that plan and we are going to try and put Fiji under pressure in that area."
English scrum coach Tom Harrison also believes the Fijian scrum will need to be stopped from being dominant.
"If you look at how they've developed their game around their set-piece, they've managed to reduce the amount of penalties that they give away," Harrison said.
"They are big human beings who will rely on that and try to overpower you there."
Focus on their own game
Fijian scrum coach Graham Dewes, who scored the winning try against Wales that put Fiji into the quarterfinals 16 years ago in France, told the media on Friday, they expect England to come hard at them.
But he said if the team plays their game plan they can cause an upset.
"We are humble and respect our opponents," Dewes said.
"I understand they will come hard at us because we beat them the last time around.
"I think Fiji on its day can shock teams and we have done it in the past and if we stick to our game plan we will do it again."
He said the team is focused and are working on achieving their goal that they had set from Day One, which is to improve on their last quarterfinal performance in 2007.
"Fiji previously made the quarters 16 years ago," he said.
"But right from day one we said we want to surpass that and we want to go all the way.
"On our day we can beat anyone. Around the belief I think we are just working hard together, being honest within ourselves and looking after each other that has given us the belief to play the best rugby on our day."
Flying Fijians training ahead of England clash. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Iliesa Tora
Motivation for players
Meanwhile, Dewes said the Flying Fijians are turning the family loss of players within the team to motivate them this week.
He said the players have supported Sam Matavesi, whose dad passed away in London during the week, and continue to work as a group in preparing for their big game.
Matavesi's dad Sireli was a former Flying Fijian.
"We come together to represent our nation and when one is hurting we definitely feel the pain," he said.
"When Sam comes back we will get around him and it's those little things that will help motivate us."
Both Fiji and England are expected to name their match-day 23 on Saturday.
The two teams meet at 4am New Zealand time or 3am Fiji Time on Monday.
