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Will the Japan flags remain flying against the Fijians?
Fiji open their Rugby World Cup account against a depleted Japan side at the Municipal Stadium in Toulouse, and will be banking on a bonus point win on Wednesday.
Injury-hit Japan will be looking to bounce back from their 91-3 mauling against Australia over the weekend, while the Islanders will be full of confidence in beating the Cherry Blossoms for the seventh time in their ninth meeting.
However, it hasn't exactly been a settled Rugby World Cup build-up for Fiji, with allegations of marijuana-smoking in recent months, among other things.
The problems began in July 2006 when five internationals were banned for their part in a drunken brawl. Coach Wayne Pivac then resigned in January before star winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca tested positive for cannabis in March. On the pitch, things have not been much better and the Islander's 2007 Pacific Nations Cup campaign saw the side lose to Samoa and Tonga.
On the field their problem is the same as that of every Pacific Island side - getting the players together in time for the tournament. They are spread all over the world, making the task of former Wallabies back-rower Ilie "The Human Skewer" Tabua, who is now the Fijian coach, near impossible.
Tabua will become the first Fijian to coach the small nation at a Rugby World Cup and would like nothing more than get the ball rolling with a convincing win.
With Wales struggling to get into second gear against the Canadians on Sunday, Fiji will feel they are in with a chance against the Dragons and will be looking to book themselves an unlikely place in the quarter-finals, just like they did 20 years ago.
But Fiji can't afford to look that far ahead and must focus on the task at hand - a Rugby World Cup clash with Japan - which won't be an easy ride by any means.
Japan's injury woes have been well-documented and coach John Kirwan was dealt another cruel blow to his campaign when in-form flanker Takamichi Sasaki was ruled out for remainder of the tournament. Sasaki, Japan's captain during Saturday's drubbing to Australia, was diagnosed with a grade-two MCL strain of his left knee following an MRI scan.
Japan have now lost four players initially named in their original World Cup squad, with Sasaki joining Mitsugu Yamamoto, Eiji Ando and Daisuke Ohata.
But as Kirwan rightly pointed out, injuries are part and parcel of the game and Japan showed against Australia - in the first 40 minutes at least - that they are no pushovers.
Australia battled to get going against the brave Japanese warriors who put their bodies on the line as if their lives depended on it.
Although the line-up is much different to that which took on the Wallabies, the commitment will no doubt be the same against a Fijian side who love to run the ball from all over the park.
That's not to say the Japanese will not play Fiji at their own game.
Kirwan's troops were not afraid to have a run at the world-class Australian backline and made a couple of incisive breaks - something the former New Zealand winger would have been proud of and a strength that Fiji coach Tabua sees as a potential threat.
"They do everything at 100 miles an hour," Tabua said of Japan.
"They will more or less rush everything, while we will try and control it, take the pressure off, and unleash what we have in our fire-armour."
"You will see Fijian flair and the running style of rugby."
The Fijians are fully aware Japan's all-out pacey, attacking style can unsettle opponents and need to be extremely cautious
"It is hard to play Japan because of the pace, they have a running game as well so what we have to do is shut them down," Fiji's vice-captain and second row Kele Leawere said.
"We have to beat Japan to make the quarter-finals."
Well, actually you need to beat Canada and Wales to stand a realistic chance of reaching the quarter-finals my big Fijian friend. Don't hurt me!
Ones to watch:
For Japan: Renowned for his outstanding leadership skills, hence his role as captain in the squad, Takuro Miuchi is also a useful ball-carrier and an effective line-out option for Japan. The Cherry Blossoms' captain played openside flanker in the 2003 World Cup but this year he dons the number eight jersey. Miuchi will need to be on the top of his game and lead from the front when the going gets tough and the tough gets going.
For Fiji: Talented loose forward Akapusi Qera has been making waves since making his senior debut in 2005 against Samoa. Having won the Fijian Rugby Player of the Year award for the 2006, there no doubting Qera's contribution as a player to the side. He has also earned himself the reputation of being a try-scoring forward with a very high work-rate. Japan will remember him for the outstanding length-of-the-field effort that saw him out-sprint the entire Japan backline to score a remarkable try that sealed victory in Osaka last year.
Head to Head: Bryce Robins and Tomoki Yoshida v Mosese Rauluni and Nicky Little. The half-back pairings of will be critical of unlocking their opponent's defence. The 32-year-old Rauluni, who is a deceptively strong scrum-half, will lead the back-line with the experienced Nicky Little at pivot. Rauluni will start in his third World Cup and will look to the Saracens fly-half's sound distribution skills to set a potentially explosive back-line alight.
Recent Results:
2007: Fiji won 30-15 in Lautoka, Fiji
2006: Fiji won 29-15 in Osaka, Japan
2003: Fiji won 41-13 in Townsville, Australia (RWC)
2000: Fiji won 47-22 in Tokyo
1999: Fiji won 16-9 in Lautoka, Fiji
Prediction: With both teams keen to throw the oval ball around, Wednesday's Pool B encounter has the potential to be a cracker of a match. Unfortunatelly there can only be one winner and Fiji just might have the physical edge over their Asian neighbours. The Islanders bleed rugby and their dominance in the Sevens circuit is slowly transcending over to the fifteen-man game as far as skills is concerned. Whilst Japan will no doubt put up a brave fight, it will end up with the Flying Fijians, well, flying away with it. Fiji to win by 20 points.
The teams:
Japan: 15 Go Aruga, 14 Christian Loamanu, 13 Yuta Imamura, 12 Shotaro Onishi, 11 Kosuke Endo, 10 Bryce Robins, 9 Tomoki Yoshida, 8 Takuro Miuchi (c), 7 Philip O'Reilly, 6 Hare Makiri, 5 Luke Thompson, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Tomokazu Soma, 2 Yuji Matsubara, 1 Tatsukichi Nishiura
Replacements: 16 Taku Inokuchi, 17 Ryo Yamamura, 18 Takanori Kumagae, 19 Ryota Asano, 20 Yuki Yatomi, 21 Koji Taira, 22 Hirotoki Onozawa
Fiji: 15 Kameli Ratuvou, 14 Vilimoni Delasau, 13 Seru Rabeni, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Isoa Neivua, 10 Nicky Little, 9 Mosese Rauluni(c), 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Semisi Naevo, 5 Wame Lewaravu, 4 Kele Leawere, 3 Henry Qiodravu, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Graham Dewes
Replacements: 16 Vereniki Sauturaga, 17 Jone Railomo, 18 Netani Talei, 19 Aca Ratuva, 20 Jone Daunivucu, 21 Gabiriele Lovobalavu, 22 Norman Ligairi
Date: Wednesday, 12 September
Venue: The Municipal Stadium, Toulouse
Kick-off: 18:00 (17:00 BST)
Conditions: Sunny, 28°C, with a strong Northerly breeze
Referee: Marius Jonker
Touch judges: Paul Marks, Federico Cuesta
Television match official: Malcolm Changleng
Assessor: Stuart Beissel
By Dave Morris
