Fiji coach Mick Byrne believes a landmark 2023 win means his side will be in a confident mood when they face England at Twickenham in an Autumn Nations Series international on Saturday.
The Pacific islanders’ last visit to Twickenham, two years ago, saw them emerge 30-22 winners as they beat England for the first time in eight attempts.
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Two months later, they pushed England agonisingly close before losing 30-24 in a Rugby World Cup quarter-final in Marseille.
“Sometimes there are different personnel out on the field, but the fact that we’ve been there on that big stage at Twickenham and then in the quarter-final, it means we’ve been there before,” Byrne said.
“It takes away that element of players being overawed by the occasion, which keeps a real good focus on our ability to play our game.”
Fiji have several attacking threats, notably the centre pairing of Josua Tuisova and Kalaveti Ravouvou.
Tuisova, nicknamed the “Human Bulldozer”, is a powerful ball-running inside centre while Bristol’s Ravouvou is blessed with exceptional speed and agility.
“It’s an exciting combination, especially when you watch them work together on the training track,” Byrne said. “Kalaveti’s grown enormously since I first had him at the Drua (Fiji’s Super Rugby team) and his professionalism has grown.
“It’s a credit to (director of rugby) Pat Lam and Bristol for the growth they’ve been able to get with Kalaveti. His game awareness is very strong, so having him in the middle with Josua gives us a nice, physical combination.
“They’re both quality players and they run strong and run hard at the line, which is what we like.”
England captain Ellis Genge knows the threats coming their way and warned his side of taking their happy-go-lucky nature lightly.
“I said to our forwards when we finished our mauling session on Thursday, typically at the club Fijians are the ones who are always laughing, joking,” explained Genge. “Every Fijian I have ever played… they’re brilliant, brilliant people. They’re very laid back and very casual about things.
“But don’t be fooled. Bill Mata is a nasty piece of work when he’s on the pitch. I play with him, I love watching him melt people for Bristol and I am sure he’s going to try to do the same to me this weekend.
“I just made it clear to the boys that, although these people grow up on beaches throwing a rugby ball about and they’re lovely people, they are very nasty to play against.”
