Fiji look to kick-start World Cup preparations

Fiji head coach Sam Domoni is looking forward to taking on Wales as the countdown to the 2011 World Cup continues.

Wales take on the islanders in the final game of the group stages in New Zealand, an exact repeat of the 2007 edition in France. On that day Wales went down to a shock 38-34 loss.

Now Fiji boss Domoni is hoping his side can kick-start their World Cup preparations against the men in red as they bid to repeat the heroics which put Wales to the sword in Nantes three years ago.

The Fijians returned to the scene of their triumph on the weekend but fell to a 34-12 defeat at the hands of France in the first game of their European tour.

“It was a really hard game against France,” said Domoni. “A few things didn’t go our way, it was a big challenge to come up against the Six Nations champions.

“We have a few things we need to polish and put right. We only had six days before the France game. This is the start of the build-up to the World Cup for us. We would love to play tier one rugby every week.

“But with the international window, our rugby in Fiji and players around the world it’s difficult. But to play tier one teams more would be a blessing for us.

“It’s a long distance relationship. It’s a heart-breaker when your other half doesn’t turn up. That’s something we have to live with.

“But we’re honoured to be here and can learn a lot from playing in the Millennium Stadium and sucking in all the adrenalin. It helps us with the players we’re trying to bring through.

“Everything is a challenge for us. Resources are always stretched and we have to make do with what we’ve got.

“We’re in a better position now than we were before 2007. Next year is a very good year for us with the amount of test matches in the build-up to the World Cup.

“It’s a small island, everyone plays rugby and everyone will be gelled to the radio or tv on Friday.”

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