The Fiji Water Flying Fijians will need to maintain discipline and trust their game plan when they face Japan in the Pacific Nations Cup final this weekend.

Acting Head Coach Senirusi Seuvalula says Fiji is prepared for Japan’s pace and physicality, but the focus remains on executing their own strengths.

Seruvakula expects Japan to pose a strong challenge, having played several Tests ahead of the final, including matches against the Wallabies and Canada.

“We know that Japan is going to be very strong in their home ground, especially they’ve been playing a couple of tests ahead of us, played against the Wallabies and then had a warm-up match with Canada before their first game last week. So they are a well-coached team and we are ready for them.”

He says Japan’s fast-paced style and ability to maintain possession will require Fiji to stay disciplined and well-prepared throughout the match.

“We are not just looking at them, we are looking at our strength on Saturday and we know that the Japanese are in their DNA, they are very fast and they want to play a long period of time with the ball.”

“So that’s the message for this week. Set-piece is very important, we need to win quality balls and quick balls so that we are able to go forward.”

With Japan also boasting a strong forward pack and an experienced coaching panel, Seruvakula emphasises the importance of winning quality set-piece ball and creating opportunities to move forward.

” So we just need to be prepared well and disciplined on Saturday. The Japanese team have a very strong up front they have a well-experienced coaching panel, Jaco (Glen Jackson) was with us, he was one of our coaching staff, so he knows a lot of our players.

” Like I said, we look at ourselves as the Fiji team, not worry about what they are going to bring, we just need to play according to our strength, to our game pattern and areas that we will consider that we will go forward.”

Defending champions, the Flying Fijians will now look to turn their preparation into a complete performance as they chase the Pacific Nations Cup title against former champions, the Brave Blossoms.

Meanwhile, you can watch the game live tomorrow on Fiji One at 10:05pm and livestreaming will be available later on io.live. headline

By: Ruci Ranitu