Scotland wary of Fiji

Fresh from upsetting the Australian Wallabies, Scotland will not rest on their laurels when they face the Vodafone Flying Fijians in a Test match in Suva this Saturday.

After beating Australia 24-19 at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Saturday, the visitors are wary of what they will come up against at the ANZ Stadium.

The Scottish have analysed the videos of Fiji's games against Australia and Italy with head coach Gregor Townsend identifying off-load specialist Leone Nakarawa to pose the biggest threat.

"We always look at the game against Fiji as very tough and we know the Fijian players very well," Townsend said.

"I have coached a few of them. Playing them here will be a big challenge.

"We watched Fiji's games on the flight over. We saw Fiji versus Australia and I thought that they played some very good rugby.

"Leone's off-loading and line breaks were excellent. We know him very well as he has been with Glasgow for the last couple of years.".

Meanwhile, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has streamlined his squad for Saturday's Test with Fiji in Suva.

Centre Alex Dunbar, one of the heroes in the victory over Australia in Sydney, return home on Sunday to begin his summer holiday early.

Back-row Magnus Bradbury, who came off the bench against Italy in Singapore, has also been given a break.

Lewis Carmichael will return to his loan club, Western Force in Perth, after training with Scotland last week.

Stand-off Finn Russell and prop Allan Dell are travelling to New Zealand to join the British and Irish Lions. Both have been named on the bench for Tuesday's game with the Chiefs. Tommy Seymour will also be among the replacements, while countryman Greig Laidlaw starts the match.

"Alex and Magnus will not travel to Fiji as we always planned to reduce the squad for our final match on tour," said Townsend. "We felt it was right that they got a rest if they weren't being considered for selection."

Townsend congratulated Russell and Dell on their Lions call-up, saying: "They go with our blessing and we look forward to seeing them continuing their excellent form, enjoying the Lions experience and coming back better players."

Carmichael, the Edinburgh lock who has been loaned to the Force in Australia, was not in Townsend's original tour party but was invited to train with them in Singapore and Sydney.

"We've learned a bit more about him and it's been a very good experience," said the head coach. "He now has an opportunity to build on what he's learned over the summer and make a big impact at Edinburgh next season."
source: FIJI TIMES