Fiji - The Bati

Team Preview

Coach:
Ilivasi Tabua

Previous World Cups:
1987, 1991, 1999, 2003

Best Performance:
Quarter-Finals 1987

Played:
14 - 5 wins, 9 losses

World Ranking:
No.12

Fixtures:
v Japan, Toulouse, September 12
v Canada, Cardiff, September 16
v Australia, Montpellier, September 23
v Wales, Nantes, September 29

Facts:
1. The Fijian Rugby Union, the governing body of the sport in the region, consists of 30 provincial unions.
2. Fiji has won the Sevens World Cup twice, in 1997 and 2005.
3. Record cap-holder Nicky Little is the nephew of former All Blacks centre Walter Little.
4. Rugby union is Fiji's national sport.
5. The side starts each match with a traditional 'cibi' war dance.

Key Players:

Kele Leawere could be forgiven for pondering the merits of being named Fiji's World Cup captain.

The build-up to this autumn's Rugby World Cup in France has been little short of a nightmare for the Fijians.

Traditionally the strongest of the Pacific nations, problems have been mounting for the past year.

Off-field disciplinary shenanigans, a drugs scandal, the resignation of the coach, the withdrawal of key players and defeats in the Pacific Nations Cup have deflated pre-tournament optimism.

There have been three changes of the team's captaincy in 2007 as new coach Ilivasi Tabua, who took over from Wayne Pivac in January, tinkers to find the perfect blend.

Tabua is still some way off finding that blend and he will continue to make changes in the few weeks that remain before the tournament starts.

But it appears he has finally settled on Leawere to lead the side out for the first match of the tournament against Japan in Toulouse on September 12.

Earlier in the year, Tabua had tried out Alivereti Doviverata for his first four games in charge, before giving the armband to England-based Mosese Rauluni.

But Tabua's decision to plump for the experience of Leawere is a sensible one.

The 33-year-old lock has been a key player for Fiji in recent years, although he took his time getting into the national team set-up.

He was 28 before he made his Test debut against Scotland in Edinburgh in 2002, but has proved his worth in the five years and his 15 Tests since.

Leawere, the elder brother of former Fiji Sevens players Mika and Sekove Leawere, left his homeland in 1996 to have a crack at club rugby in New Zealand.

There he made a name for himself in NPC Division Two with East Coast, making 56 appearances and playing for the NZ Divisional XV against Italy and Ireland.

Leawere also played for the Fiji Warriors against the ACT Brumbies in 1997.

He starred for Nadroga and also represented the Coastal Stallions in the Colonial Cup, and currently plys his trade for Hino Motors in Japan.

With his club form strong, Leawere's first chance in the international area was determined by trials, in which he impressed sufficiently to be selected for the tour to Britain and Ireland in late 2002.

After coming on for his first cap against Scotland, he remained in the squad and, helped by a series of injuries to other lock forwards, featured in the starting line-ups in all four Tests.

A year later and he was selected for Fiji's World Cup squad and appeared in two games in Australia in 2003.

It took until June 2004 for him to score his first Test try, twisting and turning his way through Samoa's defence.

But injury and a loss of form kept him out of Fiji's Test team throughout 2006, returning to the line-up against Samoa and for the Pacific Nations Cup earlier this year under the new regime.

Leadership skills aside, Leawere is blessed with plenty of running power and is a renowned lineout exponent.

Fiji's difficult build-up to the tournament has required the stability provided by the appointment of Leawere.

On the field, he is an imposing presence, standing 1.96m tall and weighing in at 115kg.

And clearly he has the attitude that the coach is looking for in a competition in which Fiji have come up short too often.

The opening match against Japan is one Fiji needs to win, along with the meeting with Canada, if it is to secure its first last-eight place in 20 years.

For Leawere to lead Fiji to only its second quarter-final ever would be a huge achievement, but that depends on the outcome of the clash with Wales, the probable decider for second place in Pool B behind Australia.

Four years ago, Scotland edged Fiji in a similar winner-takes-all encounter and Leawere will be determined to prevent another heartbreaking defeat.

The problems that have plagued Fiji will require the kind of leadership on the field from Leawere, along with the tactical discipline instilled by Tabua.

But out of adversity can come strength, especially in a tournament when anything can happen.

Given his age and veteran status, this World Cup could easily be Leawere's last hurrah and nothing would be more fitting than if he could seal that elusive last-eight spot - and, with a bit of luck, maybe more.