Flying Fijians

Viliame Mata replaces Peceli Yato at number eight. In the reserves, prop Eroni Mawi has been swapped with Lee-Roy Atalifo in the only other change to the 23 that comprehensively thrashed Georgia in Osaka, 45-10.

Fiji's quarter final hopes are effectively over after earlier defeats by Australia and Uruguay but head coach John McKee said his squad was determined to sign off from the tournament with a positive result.

"We see this final pool game as both a challenge and an opportunity. It is important to finish the pool stage on a high note," he said.

Fiji scored six of their seven tries after half-time to secure a vital bonus point win, with man of the match Semi Radradra scoring twice and setting up three other tries.

Coach John McKee said the whole squad was determined to make amends after last week's defeat against Uruguay.

"Our boys were bitterly disappointed and they really wanted to make a statement today," McKee said.

After losing to Australia last Saturday, Fiji were shocked by an impassioned Uruguay side, who took a 24-12 half-time lead and managed to hold onto a 30-27 win. 

Boasting some world-class players, Fiji were tipped by many to cause some upsets at this year’s RWC with the Wallabies and Wales also in their pool. However, their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals now look very slim. 

The Flying Fijians threatened an almighty upset against Australia on Saturday, leading the two-time champions for large periods of the game in Sapporo before fading in the final stages of the 39-21 defeat.

Captain Dominiko Waqaniburotu, Leone Nakarawa and Semi Radradra are the only players asked to back up in the starting 15 against Uruguay and coach John McKee has challenged the new players in the team to put up their hands and play well.

The 2007 quarter finalists managed only one win apiece in the previous two World Cup campaigns but have been tipped as a genuine contender to make the knockout rounds in Japan.

The Wallabies were too strong for Fiji when they met in the pool stage four years ago but coach John McKee says his team has made massive progress since then.

"Our squad has probably been a bit more settled. Last time I came in just over a year out from the World Cup, so we were still working on our combinations going into the World Cup. I think this time we're much more stable around the team.

The Flying Fijians played a trump card in announcing their team for Saturday's match in Sapporo by shifting the explosive Radradra to the left wing.

It's the same position where the former rugby league star was a five-season NRL sensation for Parramatta, scoring 82 tries in 94 games until 2017.

All of the 27-year-old's Test rugby appearances have been at outside centre and he has been primarily used there at French club Bordeaux.

Cheika is set to go close to the team who stunned the All Blacks 47-26 in Perth last month, unquestionably their best performance in the four years since reaching the last Rugby World Cup final.

That 2015 team has undergone an upheaval, most significantly in the last two seasons as results dived. Last year they crashed to an unacceptable four win-nine loss return.

A host of players who started Australia’s most recent clash with Fiji, back in June 2017, have either been dropped or are in Japan but no longer ranked a starting player.

Accomplished assistant coach Tabai Matson revealed the Flying Fijians have been preparing as if the Wallabies will field openside flankers Michael Hooper and David Pocock in their starting pack for Saturday’s clash in Sapporo.

Matson said his team’s hard work through an extended southern hemisphere winter together had them quietly confident they can live up to the dark horse tag bestowed on them.

“Could we achieve an upset? If we prepare well and click on the day, it’ll be a good game and we have a chance,” he said.

The Flying Fijians arrived in Abashiri City over the weekend and got their final intense fitness training session in on Saturday ahead of a rest day on Sunday.

"We really went really hard and intensively one of our last really big physical days before the test match," John McKee said.

Mckee said he was pleased with their preparations for the tournament so far and this final week is all about the Wallabies.

"Just working through our clarity and making sure the players really know our gameplan inside-out," he said.

Twice before have Fiji progressed to the knockout rounds of rugby’s showpiece event, first in the inaugural tournament in 1987, before again making the quarter-finals in the 2007 edition. There were no such celebrations four years ago in England, however, as John McKee’s side picked up just one win and finished fourth in their pool, a pool that is not too different to the one they face in Japan over the next month.