Coach Bai (FIJ) - 'We will make sure we tighten up'

Coach Bai (FIJ) - 'We will make sure we tighten up'

Seremaia Bai, kicking coach

On how the squad is feeling after the 24-23 defeat by Portugal:

"We are pretty gutted. We are disappointed with the result but at the same time we had a goal in mind, to make it to the quarter-finals, so we are looking forward to this coming week. It was a tough pool for us to get out of and we are glad that we made it to the quarters.

"We will make sure that we tighten up where we need to tighten up."

On the match against Portugal:


"You have to give credit to Portugal. We knew they were going to be a tough team to crack. As for us, we probably didn't get the ball [enough] to get the momentum going the way that we would like to play and that is probably one of the factors we really need to look at.

"It was a beautiful stadium, the crowd was amazing and it was great to be a part of it yesterday."


On how having beaten England for the first time in a warm-up match at Twickenham in August will help Fiji against England on Sunday:

"It gives us great confidence going in to the game that we have beaten them, but the most important thing in a playoff is that anything can happen so we have to regroup, re-focus and we will have to prepare well for this resilient English side."

On his thoughts on England:

"It reminds me of the 2007 tournament where everybody wrote England off [but they reached the Rugby World Cup final]. They have shown how good they are, with players who have played on the big stage. We respect that and take it on board. Now we need to see how we can come back and do well in this quarter-final.

"They've got a great kicking game, though I think they tend to run the ball more in this World Cup. Some of the individuals are world-class players. They have good set-pieces - lineouts and scrums - and some big ball carriers, so they are strong across the board."

On the team's popularity with fans in France:

"We are far away from home. The crowds have been amazing. When we were in Bordeaux the fans were amazing and in Toulouse the people were amazing. I think it helps a lot, especially when the game is getting tougher. To have a bit of noise at your back is great."

On Fiji's plans for this week:

"The boys will need to recover for a bit. We'll be travelling to Marseille today and tomorrow have a walk-through session, for clarity, and then have training sessions before our captain's run."

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