The Fiji Water Flying Fijians are back on home turf and ready to take on Scotland, with head coach Mick Byrne saying the players are eager to embrace the support of their home crowd this Saturday at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
Scotland arrived earlier this week after a narrow 29-26 win over the Maori All Blacks in New Zealand and are set for a rematch with Fiji, who they last met on November 3, 2024.
Fiji has beaten Scotland only twice in history, with their most recent victory coming in 2017, a 27-22 win at the very same stadium (it was known as the ANZ stadium back then) where they will meet this weekend.
Byrne said this first home game of the season means a great deal to the team, especially for the players based overseas.
“I think the answer is probably in the question, it’s our first game at home and that’s what they’re really looking forward to,” Byrne said.
“It’s good for some of our northern hemisphere players who haven’t played at home for a while. They weren’t down for last year, so it’s been a long time.”
He added that the connection to family, friends and local fans adds an emotional boost for the side.
“It’s great for them to be able to come home and play in front of their family and friends.”
Despite a narrow 22-18 loss to the Wallabies last Sunday, Byrne believes the effort shown in New Castle has stirred excitement for Saturday’s clash.
“We unfortunately didn’t get the job done on Sunday, but I thought we were okay. And I think that’ll probably generate some support for this weekend.”
“We know our home crowd are great. They’re vocal. And our players are really looking forward to playing in front of them.”
Kick-off is 3pm this Saturday at HFC Bank Stadium.
