Editorial: Let’s make it count by staying focused on what’s to be done

Forget all these nonsense about the Flying Fijians winning the Rugby World Cup (RWC) or playing in the semifinal or the quarterfinal.

The immediate goal and focus for the Simon Raiwalui-coached side is to qualify (on merit) from Pool C.

And for that, it all starts with a must bonus point win over Georgia in Stade Bordeaux, this Sunday, at 3.45am (Fiji time). After that, we can then turn our focus on Portugal.

Raiwalui said it right, that it’s about taking it game by game.

The 22-15 win over the Australian Wallabies is now water under the bridge.

Yes, Georgia drew 18-18 with Portugal yesterday but that does not mean, it’s going to be a walk in the park for the Flying Fijians.

The Georgians are proud men with their never-say- die attitude and definitely they’ll be coming all out against the Fijians, to try and restore lost glory in their RWC campaign.

We’ve got to remember that core of this Georgia side held the Fijians to a 15-15 draw in November 2021.

Not only that, last November, the Georgians upset Wales 13-12 in Cardiff, which led to the sacking of Welsh head coach, Wayne Pivac.

On record, the Flying Fijians have played six Test matches with Georgia. The Fijians have won four times, one loss and a draw.

We cannot underestimate Georgia or even our last pool opponent Portugal.

The Flying Fijians have got to learn from the past RWC experiences where they suffered upset losses to Romania 17-15 (1991 RWC) and 30-27 to Uruguay (2019 RWC).

The Fijians need to keep their guards up at all times and play it safe to get the required result. There is no room for testing players out. The changing of players or making positional changes should only be done in case of injuries. It’s best not to take risk and let’s keep it that way until we book our spot for the quarterfinal.

Feedback: leonec@fijisun.com.fj