WITH a majority of last week’s match-day 23 being named for their second Test against Scotland tomorrow, FIJI Water Flying Fijians head coach Mick Byrne says they’ll be given another chance to prove themselves on the field.
He said the starting fifteen and impact players have recovered well from last week’s Test against the Australian Wallabies in Newcastle, Australia and their selection for this week allows them to build off last Sunday’s clash.
“We’ll give them another chance to get out there and build off what they did last Sunday and I said to the players, last Sunday doesn’t fall away if we don’t turn up on Saturday (tomorrow),” Byrne said yesterday.
Last week’s starting XV saw them hold off the Wallabies to a 5-14 points difference at half-time and subsequent changes throughout the second half gave the home side intense competition for possession and execution of various set-pieces.
“So, it’s good that the players have been there and tasted that. I feel for the boys, for our players that haven’t had an opportunity, but we’ve spoken to them, and they understand that it’s a 32-man squad and what they did out there today is to be commended,” he stated.
As the focus shifts to what the 15 men will pull off against Scotland this week, he added leaving players out was a hard decision to make when considering the broad range of skill contained in them.
He said the team’s short turnaround time between the Tests played a part in the selection process.
“It’s hard to get everybody back up on the same page and I thought everybody played reasonably well.
“And they’re fresh because we’ve only just had the downside of only coming together and having two training sessions is that you don’t get a lot of time to work together, but the upside is you’re fresh, so the players are fresh.”
While those left out of selection for this Test take rest, he said they have been assisting the players in their preparations.
“The way they prepared our team, the way they went out there and threw all our pitches that they needed to throw at our starting team was awesome.
“They need to be commended for the work they’ve done preparing the team for the weekend.”
The Flying Fijians face Scotland at 3pm tomorrow at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
