Cunningham enjoys ‘big challenge’ while Fiji is preparing for the World Cup Opener
Fijiana coach Ioan Cunningham has challenged his team to continue their growth while preparing for their women’s Rugby World Cup Opener.
Fiji will compete in Pool B in Pool B against a fully -fought Canada in York, which also contains Scotland and Cunningham’s home country of Wales.
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A narrow defeat against the USA in a warm -up game in Washington showed that Fiji is able to threaten higher nations with higher rank, but Canada, which takes second place behind the hosts, will be an overall harder threat.
It is a challenge that Cunningham is looking forward to because he tries to achieve a surprising success.
“We can’t wait, it’s a big challenge for us,” he said.
“Canada is obviously number two in the world at the moment, they have fantastic, sporty rugby players, but we are really looking forward to it.
“We want to continue our growth as a team. I think we have shown fantastic growth with a game against the USA in Washington in the past two to three months, which was great for us.
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“We want to put a performance on the field and who knows what will happen if we appear correctly.”
New Zealand, Spain and their opponents, Canada, Canada, were accompanied to Fiji at a welcome ceremony in York. New Zealand and Fiji played Waiata – traditional songs – as part of the event, while teams and trainers recognized the participation medals who recognized the qualification for the World Cup.
“It was a great backdrop in the gardens of York and also fantastic music,” added Cunningham.
“A very warm welcome from World Rugby and the Mayor and Council members of York. We look forward to seeing the support that we have for the match day on Saturday.
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“There are many family connections to our players in Great Britain. I am sure that they will be here and cheer us on.”
Fiji is led to the field by Alfreda Fisher, the youngest captain of her country.
The 21-year-old watched on TV when Fiji applied for her first victory of the Women’s World Cup against South Africa three years ago and is now the focus to help her nation create more history.
She said, “I am humble and honored to represent my country. It is an additional pressure, but I do good performance and do the girls.
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“I am excited to take over the big stage with big teams, and hopefully our fans will come out in numbers to support us.
“We are ready for the match and nothing is impossible. We will play Fijianian rugby. We will play freestyle rugby. We don’t play according to books or structure. It helps us to be ourselves.”
With more than 330,000 tickets and prices already sold at only £ 5 for children and £ 10 for adults, fans are encouraged to secure their tickets by securing the tickets