Wales aim to salvage World Cup pride in Fiji finale

Wales vs. Fiji in the 2025 World Rugby World Cup

Exeter, Sandy Park Date: Saturday, September 6 Kick-off: 14:45 BST

On first glance, Wales vs. Fiji appears to be a pointless dead rubber in a World Cup weekend full of heavyweight fights and deciders.

However, if you delve a little deeper, you’ll discover some interesting subplots in this first-ever Test match between the two sides, which attracted a 15, 000-person sell-out Sandy Park crowd.

After suffering heartbreaking defeats by Scotland and Canada, Wales now have one last chance to prove their professional worth.

While Fiji, under the direction of former Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham, will undoubtedly enjoy their chances against a team that is neither confident nor in form.

Cunningham said he had no feelings for Wales after his controversial departure last year, but he would still like to see his former side reunited.

It is challenging to call. Only Carys Phillips, the hooker for Wales, has played almost twice as many Tests as Fiji, who has only ever played 45.

After receiving knocks in the opening round against Scotland, Wales head coach Sean Lynn has had a reshuffle. Co-captains Alex Callender and Kate Williams both made their first appearances in the starting lineup.

In place of Molly Reardon, experienced hooker Carys Phillips has been used to stabilize Wales’ sluggish lineout.

Kayleigh Powell, a sevens player for Great Britain, makes her debut after scoring well against Canada. In place of Jasmine Joyce-Butchers, Wales’ top player Nel Metcalfe switches to the wing and she is named at full-back.

Ioan Cunningham, the head coach of Fiji, has also made adjustments, some of which have been forced through suspensions and injuries.

After receiving a three-game ban for a dangerous tackle against Scotland, vice-captain Bilita Tawake is unavailable and Keleni Marawa takes the hooker position.

Asinate Serevi, the daughter of Fijian rugby king Waisale Serevi, gets a start at lock, while Karalaini Naisewa also makes a new appearance in the front row.

Wales manager Lynn stated, “We want to make sure we’re finishing the tournament on a high.”

“It appears as though both teams will hit each other in the head.” I’m hoping we come out on top, but I’ve asked the girls to leave [the pitch] crawling.

I believed that Fiji gave a very strong performance in the match against Scotland.

“When they have the ball in their hands, they’re very exciting, and it’s just making sure we’re looking after it, going through the phases, and testing them in defense as well.”

Wales co-captain Alex Callender stated: “The tournament hasn’t gone according to plan, results haven’t gone our way, but we want to win this game to show how talented we are and how hard we’ve worked over the past few months.

We have had to make some adjustments, but the team we’ve assembled is a strong one, we’ve put together some strong pairings, and we’ve given credit to some players who have done a lot of training, according to Fiji head coach Cunningham.

It will give us a fantastic opportunity to challenge Wales if we can get our foundations and fundamentals right.

“She’ll be under pressure kicking if we can shut down [George]’s] time and space, but I’m sure they’ll look at it more like a territory and set piece game where we want the ball in hand a little more.

Asinate Serevi, a Fiji lock, said, “We’re reminding each other that we need to end on a high when we play Wales this weekend.”

We’re looking forward to the chemistry, because we won’t know until we play them how good a team is.

In Sean Lynn’s team’s opening two games, things couldn’t have gone much worse, and this game has the potential to worsen Welsh rugby’s overall state.

Replacements: Gwenllian Pyrs, Donna Rose, Abbie Fleming, Bryonie King, Seren Lockwood, Hannah Dallavalle, Jasmine Joyce-Butchers, Molly Reardon, Gwenllian Pyrs, Donna Rose, Abbie Fleming,

Fijian: Litiana Vueti, Repeka Tove, Verenaisi Ditavutu, Josifini Neihamu, Kolora Lomani, Salanieta Kinita, Setaita Railumu, Karalaini Naisewa, Keleni Marawa, Vika Matarugu, Jade Coates, Asinate Serevi, Nunia Daunimoala, Alfreda Fisher (capt),

Assistants: Jess Ling (RA), Lauren Jenner (FIR), and Jess Ling (RA).

Andrew McMenemy (SRU) TMO