Friendships will be put aside for 80 minutes when Fiji Bati ‘enforcer’ Tui Kamikamica goes up against several of his Melbourne Storm teammates in the New Zealand side on Saturday (Sunday Fiji time).
Kamikamica will lead the Fiji forwards against the Kiwis in the highly anticipated quarter-finals of the Rugby League World Cup at the MKM Stadium in Hull.
He will be up against his mates from the Storm in Kenny and Jesse Bromwich, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Jahrome Hughes, but there will be no love lost on the field.
“It’s another game of football. I’m representing my country. They’ll represent their country and do their best for their team. And I’m sure I’ll do my best for Fiji on Saturday,” Kamikamica said.
“I’m looking forward to definitely putting in a solid performance against my teammates. It’s a challenge for me.
“Every time I put on that Fiji jumper, it’s always an honour – it was always my dream as a kid in Fiji.
“I’m willing to go out there and do my best for Fiji.”
Kamikamica has grown in stature, skill and dominance in the game over the years, ever since he made his international debut in 2016. He has become a senior member of the Bati and was part of the team that beat New Zealand 4-2 at their thrilling 2017 RWLC quarter-final.
He knows too well that the Kiwis will use the shock loss five years ago to fire themselves up for this weekend’s match.
“When playing against any Tier One nation, we always expect a tough game. The last world cup in 2017 was a pretty good game against New Zealand. We didn’t score any tries, we kicked two goals,” the 28-year-old said.
“They’ll be fired up for Saturday night. This will also be the first time we play against New Zealand since that 2017 quarter-final.
“I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge ahead of us. All the boys can’t wait to be out there on Saturday night and represent our beloved country Fiji.”
The Somosomo, Taveuni, native is one of only five surviving players from 2017. The others are Apisai Koroisau, Viliame Kikau, Ben Nakubuwai and Kevin Naiqama.
With a young Bati team, Kamikamica believes they will be up to the task. He says all they need to do is believe in themselves.
“The finals are a different ballgame. Totally different from the pool game. Don’t think too much. Just pick yourself, narrow your focus and do the little things well. The big things will take care of themselves.
“The boys will know we’ll talk to them during the week. This is another game of football. The young blokes have played footy for the whole of their career so it’s nothing different for us.”
The match kicks off at 7am Fiji time.
