We can cause upset, insists coach McKee
Regret that they couldn’t finish the job and regret too that they couldn’t have their two best players on the field – wing Nemani Nadolo for a debatable one-week suspension for a tip-tackle, and halfback Nikola Matawalu to injury.
McKee knows that Welsh flyhalf Dan Biggar has been tipped to be the hero for Wales as they will rely on his super boot to punish the Fijians.
McKee said the loss of the giant Nadolo was not a problem.
Qera said: “It doesn’t change anything for us, we know that the Wales team are coming after the victory against England“.
“We’ve selected the strongest team we can for the type of game we need to play”, McKee told reporters on Wednesday.
Former Gloucester star Akapusi Qera will win his 50th cap as he leads Fiji against Wales in the World Cup this afternoon.
Wales prevailed 17-13 when the teams last met in Cardiff in November but have been decimated by injuries at the World Cup and are backing up just five days after their bruising win over England. So often dealt poor hands in terms of turnarounds between matches, this time they were clearly the fresher team.
Going by the number of neutrals cheering for Fiji, there were clearly a lot of English fans here – they now need to see their team beat Australia on Sunday to stay in the competition.
FIJI head coach John McKee insists his side are a more potent unit now than when they last faced Wales 10 months ago, a game which saw Warren Gatland’s outfit suffer an almighty scare.
“We’re very strong in the back-three area and we’ve got very good players coming into the team to cover his position, and also Waisea Nayacalevu who got injured in our last game”.