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The Flying Fijians must beware of the flying Giteau
Australia will be looking to continue their good run of form in the Rugby World Cup, even if it is up against an understrength Fiji outfit at the Stade de la Mosson in Montpellier on Sunday.
The Wallabies have all but secured their quarter-final berth after their convincing 32-20 win over Wales - their strongest pool challengers - last weekend.
All that stands in the two-time world champions' way of booking their trip to Marseille are the Fijians and a winless Canada team.
Fiji are currently lying second with the same amount of points (10) on the Pool B standings with Australia, with both sides collecting a full bag of points from their previous encounters.
Though don't let that fool you.
Australia have scored 17 tries to get to where they are and have conceded only two, while the Islanders have scored eight and conceded four.
The Wallabies also never looked like struggling in their two bonus-point victories against Japan and Wales respectively, but Fiji were taken the whole nine yards against both the Japanese and the Canadians - both teams nearly snatching victory at the death.
So are we to expect one-way traffic from the Wallabies as they strive to make it a record three World Cup wins? More than likely.
This especially after coach John Connolly announced a surprising near-full strength line-up to take on the Flying Fijians, minus only Stephen Larkham and Stirling Mortlock who are out injured until the quarter-finals.
So the backline needs bolstering by the household names including full-back Chris Latham, winger Lote Tuqiri and inside centre Matt Giteau. Mortlock's absence has forced them to play Adam Ashley-Cooper, despite worries about his injured toe.
The Wallabies have also selected, with the exception of Mark Chisholm and Phil Waugh, their first-choice forward pack - an area the Fijians have suffered with in recent performances.
George Gregan has been picked as captain and will reach yet another milestone in his extraordinary career when he equals the international Test captaincy record currently held by England's Will Carling.
It almost seems as a massive gamble by Connolly selecting so many front-line players against the Fijians, who never shy away from big hits. There are bound to be casualties, with the Wallabies clearly hoping that the two weeks between this game and the beginning of the quarter-finals is enough time for anyone of importance to get over any injury.
Fiji on the other hand have their eye on the quarter-finals after beating Japan and Canada - and have opted to rest their big guns for their third Pool B clash.
That's not to say the Islanders won't raise their game against the Wallabies. Fiji know if they get a bit of a sniff and get a bit of a roll on, they are in with a shout at crossing the whitewash. The Wallabies can't give Fiji too much leeway in that sense.
Fiji's decision to pick a below-strength team will also convince the Wallabies to change their game plan to a more conservative style.
Australia defence coach John Muggleton has expressed his concern that the Wallabies tactics could play into Fiji's hands, it is because of this that they will revert to a more structured game to try and deny Fiji any possession.
"There's certainly a little bit of the unknown for us," said Australia full-back Chris Latham.
"We need to concentrate on what we need to do and that's definitely making sure that we're clinical in what we're doing with the ball but, more to the point, we're very clinical in our defence.
"If we don't give Fiji a sniff then obviously they can't do the things they love to do."
Australia adopted a similar strategy in their opening Pool B game against Japan in Lyon and the plan worked perfectly.
The Wallabies forwards slowly ground down the Cherry Blossoms in the first half before unleashing the backs after the break - scoring 68 unanswered points to record a 91-3 win.
Latham, who is arguably Australia's most instinctive player, said the key to playing that sort of game was to ensure that the team's defence was water-tight and the players don't turn over too much ball.
"We're all singing from the same book," he said.
"If we're not clinical there and we turn over a bit of ball, we know how dangerous the Fijians can get."
The Australians expect Fiji to approach the game with the attitude of having nothing to lose so they have worked hard on defending against counter-attacks.
Muggleton said the Wallabies would need to be extra careful with their kicking game and keep a close eye on the Fijian back three in case they launch a sudden attack.
"When we kick we'll make sure we form a line first and we'll cover all avenues there because the back three aren't great kickers," Muggleton said.
"They love to run the ball back, they run it back hard and they run nice angles, so we need to be on top of our game there."
Fiji will struggle if the game is kept tight, their weakness is up front, but given half an opening they can be a lethal attacking force - no matter what team is sent into battle.
Ones to watch:
For Australia: Matt Giteau will be Australia's Mr Fix-It against the Fijians after the loss of fly-half Stephen Larkham and centre Stirling Mortlock to injury. The Western Force's Million Dollar Man can fill in at scrum-half when George Gregan is not around or running out of steam, can take over at fly-half when others are out of sorts and - when everyone is around - will keep everything together in the midfield. Oh yes, and he's been known to slot a couple of kicks over for his team too. Berrick Barnes - while outstanding against Japan and Wales - is certain to be smothered by the Fijian in-your-face assault. Playing Wales at Millennium Stadium is intimidating, but it could be relatively subdued compared to a Fijian confrontation. Giteau will no doubt double as Barnes's own private bodyguard and help the Australia rookie out the best he can.
For Fiji: With a new-look Fijian side set to take the field on Sunday, it will be up to stand-in captain Seremaia Bai to keep things together. He is one of the few to have played in all the Pool B games for Fiji thus far in the World Cup, and will have learnt to keep a cool head when the going gets tough. No stranger to the tryline, the Clermont centre has also got a monster boot on him and will no doubt be on hand to put some points on the board should the opportunity come his way.
Head to head: Lote Tuqiri (Australia) v Vilimoni Delasau (Fiji). A mouth-watering battle looms between these two dangerous wingers who are evenly matched with pace, size and strength - even the length of their dreadlocks are the same! Fijian-born Tuqiri is still yet to unleash his true potential in this year's World Cup and will love nothing better to do so against his former countrymen. Delasau is by far the biggest threat to the Australians, and Tuqiri will need to be quite literally on the ball to keep his opposite number from causing any damage out wide.
Past results:
2007: Australia won 49-0 at Subiaco Oval, Perth
1998: Australia won 66-20 at Parramatta Stadium, Sydney
1985: Australia won 31-9 at Cricket Ground, Sydney
1985: Australia won 52-28 at Ballymore, Brisbane
1984: Australia won 16-3 at National Stadium, Suva
1980: Australia won 22-9 at National Stadium, Suva
1976: Australia won 27-17 at Cricket Ground, Sydney
1976: Australia won 21-9 at Ballymore, Brisbane
1976: Australia won 22-6 at Cricket Ground, Sydney
1972: Australia won 21-19 at Buckhurst Park, Suva
Prediction: Lets not kid around here. Australia still would have won quite comfortably had Fijian coach, Ilie "The Human Skewer" Tabua fielded his top side. As it stands, the Wallabies will have to now watch that they don't get hurt in the tackle, as well as in their Olympic dives scoring tries. It looks as if the only human skewer to end up on the Wallabies' plate is a Fijian one. Bon Appetit! Australia to win by 50 points.
The teams:
Australia: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 George Gregan (c), 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Matt Dunning
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Hugh McMeniman, 19 Stephen Hoiles, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Scott Staniforth, 22 Julian Huxley
Fiji: 15 Norman Ligairi, 14 Vilimoni Delasau, 13 Maleli Kunavore, 12 Seremaia Bai (c), 11 Isoa Neivua, 10 Waisea Luveniyali, 9 Jone Daunivucu, 8 Jone Qovu, 7 Aca Ratuva, 6 Netani Talei, 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 4 Isoa Domolailai, 3 Henry Qiodravu, 2 Vereniki Sauturaga, 1 Alefoso Yalayalatabua
Replacements: 16 Bill Gadolo, 17 Jone Railomo, 18 Wame Lewaravu, 19 Sisa Koyamaibole, 20 Mosese Rauluni, 21 Gabiriele Lovobalavu, 22 Seru Rabeni
Date: Sunday, September 23
Venue: Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Kick-off: 14:30 (13:30 BST, 12:30 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens
Touch judges: Christophe Berdos, Mark Lawrence
Television match official: Craig Joubert
Assessor: Bob Francis
By Dave Morris
