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Fiji coach defends team selection for clash with Australia

Coach Ilie Tabua takes umbrage at suggestions Fiji are storing up for an all-or-nothing tilt at Wales by fielding a drastically weakened team for today's Rugby World Cup encounter with Australia.

The suspicion that the Fijians only have eyes for their potentially decisive showdown with the Welsh in Nantes next weekend gathered steam when Tabua dismantled his lineup with 11 changes from the one that downed Canada 29-16.

Five players are making their World Cup debut, while four others have come on as replacements in the tournament. The halves, Jone Daunivucu and Waisea Luveniyali, have played one Test between them.

But try suggesting that Fiji haven't picked anywhere near their strongest lineup and Tabua gets animated.

"On paper you may think that this is a weaker side, but gentlemen these people are representing Fiji," Tabua said. "This is a World Cup [match] it's not some Mickey Mouse game. This is the best team that we can name at this moment."

In contrast Australia are taking no chances with their potential banana-skin opponents and have only tinkered with their team, making three changes to the side that beat Wales 32-20 in Cardiff last Saturday.

Head coach John Connolly has been accused of being overly conservative and leaving open the possibility of injury to some of his star players against the crash-tackling Fijians.

"It's very much about us in this game. We pay them all the respect they deserve but it's all about how we play, and if we do that we're confident of winning," Connolly said.

The odds favor a healthy winning margin for the Wallabies, keen to lock up the top spot in Pool B and a potential quarter-final against holders England, who first have some work to do to get past Samoa and Tonga.

Fullback Chris Latham, who has made an accelerated return from a knee reconstruction to score four tries at the World Cup, warns of an unknown factor with the Fijians.

"They are not playing their strongest team and that could be dangerous for us, it's a little bit of the unknown," Latham said.

"We need to concentrate on what we need to do and that's definitely making sure that we're clinical in what we're doing with the ball, but more to the point that we're very clinical in our defense," he said.

"If we don't give Fiji a sniff, then obviously they can't do the things that they love to do when they've got the ball," Latham said.
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