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Akapusi Qera: Fiji's rising star
Home stadium: National Stadium, Suva (20,000)
Nickname: Flying Fijians
Number of rugby players in the country: 45,000
National rugby website address: www.teivovo.com
Current national champions: Nadroga Stallions
Strengths: With the main focus in Fiji being Sevens there is no doubt that the main strength of their XV is flair and attacking rugby. Their natural skills and ability enable them to strike from anywhere on the field. It is not just the backs who are dangerous with ball in hand, from one to fifteen they are dangerous runners and can cause even the best defences problems when given the chance.
Weaknesses: The side's weaknesses stem from their natural desire to play attacking rugby. They often try and play the full version of the game as if it was Sevens, leading to a very unstructured approach. Added to this they have not got the strongest set-piece and Fiji can struggle against better nations who play a more structured game.
History in the tournament: 1987 - quarter-final; 1991 - group stages; 1999 - quarter-final play-off; 2003 - group stages
Prediction for this tournament: Grouped in Pool B this time around, along with Australia, Wales, Japan and Canada, the Fijians face an almighty task to make it out of their group. They will lose to Australia, but should pick up wins over both Canada and Japan, leaving the clash with Wales as key. You would expect the Welsh to win at a canter but the Fijians have proved they can live with the big boys when they came within moments of beating Wales at the Millennium Stadium in their last meeting. Third in Pool B.
Coach: The man charged with trying to gel such a wonderful bunch of individuals into a team is Ilivasi 'Sevia Tamanivalu' Tabua, the former Australian and Fijian flanker. Nicknamed 'The Human Skewer', Tabua represented Australia in the 1995 World Cup before playing for his native Fiji in the 1999 tournament (in the days before the new regulations were introduced regarding playing only for one team). He was appointed head coach in January of this year, having previously worked as an assistant to Wayne Pivac. When Pivac stepped down from the post Tabua was the natural candidate to succeed him.
Key player: There is no denying the star of the side is Rupeni Caucaunibuca, although he will not be making the trip to the World Cup after serving a three-month ban for smoking grass. Step in Moses Rauluni, a deceptively strong scrum-half for his size who works hard in the loose and recycles quickly. Brought up in Brisbane and the son of 1970s Fiji halfback Taito Rauluni, "Mojee" played for the Australia U19 in 1993-94. He made his Test debut in 1996 and was a late inclusion to the 1999 World Cup squad. Serious injury kept him out of the picture from 2001, and he disappeared from the Fiji team until early 2003 but played in all four of Fiji's World Cup matches in Australia. Currently plying his trade with England club Saracens, the 32-year old Fiji veteran still has a wealth of experience on his side and will be a nippy lethal weapon for the Islanders.
Captain: Fiji will be captained by Alifereti Raivalita Doviverata, more commonly known as Dovi. The loose forward can play either at number eight or blindside and first represented Fiji in Sevens before making the step-up to the full version of the game. The son of a chief of Rewa, his full senior debut came in 1999 against Spain and later that year he was a member of the Fijian World Cup squad. Having cemented his place in the side by 2001 he was awarded the skipper's armband in 2003 for the World Cup in Australia. He has also won two caps for the Pacific Islanders team, co-captaining them on both occasions.
Rising star: There is an abundance of young talent coming through the Fijian ranks, but it seems the one player making the most waves is talented loose forward Akapusi Qera. He hails from a sporting family, with his father representing Fiji at cricket and his brother also a Fijian international rugby player. He has previously represented Fiji at both U19 and U21 level as well as Sevens, before making his senior debut in 2005 against Samoa. With nine caps and two tries to his name, he is a name for the future. Having won the Fijian Rugby Player of the Year award for the 2006 season he signed with English Premiership side Gloucester and will be one of the stars of the World Cup.
Team Nemesis: The lure of foreign fields has left Fiji's pool of talent dispersed across the globe.
Likely headlines: 'High times for Fijian rugby', 'Moses parts the red defence'
Price of a pint: E1.00
Rugby player/sheep ratio: 1:9
