FIJI Water Flying Fijians head coach Mick Byrne is optimistic about Fiji’s chances of progressing beyond the pool stages at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Fiji has been drawn in Pool C alongside Argentina, Spain, and Canada under the new competition format in Australia.
Byrne has identified Argentina as the toughest test in the pool stages, noting that Fiji has not faced them since 2003.
He added that the upcoming Nations Championship offers an ideal opportunity to assess the strengths and capabilities of the Pumas side ahead of their highly-anticipated World Cup encounter.
“With Argentina being part of the Rugby Championship, they’ll be playing all the Six Nations teams that we’ll face, so we’ll get a good chance to observe how they perform against the same opposition. This will allow us to make direct comparisons, which is really valuable,” he said.
Despite Fiji’s historical dominance over Spain and Canada, Byrne is cautious about underestimating the two teams.
History has shown that teams often raise their performance significantly during Rugby World Cup tournaments, causing major upsets.
“Obviously, Spain and Canada are teams we’ve played in recent years, so we know their style and recognise they improve every year,” he explained.
“Spain were better this year than last, Canada improved this year as well and they will continue to get stronger.
“We need to work extremely hard. Ultimately, we want to win our pool and our games at the World Cup to enter the Round of 16 in good form.”
To advance to the knockout stages of the 2027 Rugby World Cup, Fiji must finish as one of the top two teams in Pool C or be among the four best third-placed teams across all pools.
The top two teams from each of the six pools automatically qualify for the Round of 16, along with the four best third-placed teams, meaning 16 of the 24 teams will progress from the pool stage.
Byrne emphasised the importance of having a deep, well-managed squad to cope with the physical and demanding nature of the World Cup campaign, especially as teams reaching the quarter-finals will face four intense, high-pressure matches.
