All Blacks captain Scott Barrett says he knows the Fiji Water Flying Fijians will bring their physicality to the test match in San Diego tomorrow but they will work to suffocate and stop their momentum.
“They will bring alot of physicality so we have to match that, and it’s about grinding them down and hopefully play some of the rugby that we are capable of,” the big lock said after the team completed their captain’s run today.
Responding to questions from Mai TV, Barrett said they will respect the Fiji team and will aim to not give them any chances tomorrow night.
“Like previous Fiji teams they will want to take us on. It will be about stopping their momentum, they are certainly explosive athletes from 1-23, so its about not giving them any chance, suffocating them with our defence, and hoping building pressure the way we want to.”
Barrett, who was captain of the Crusaders team that lost to the Drua earlier this year said he hopes the 7pm start time in San Diego will be alot cooler than the heat they struggled with in Lautoka, but he is wary of the Drua players in the Fijian side.
“Obviously there is a lot of Fijian Drua in the Fiji side and they will have some confidence from their form in the Super Rugby competition, so we certainly got to respect the Fiji team tomorrow night,” Barrett side.
The Fiji Water Flying Fijians vs All Blacks game kicks of at 7.30pm, Friday at SnapDragon Stadium, San Diego (2.30pm, Saturday Fiji time).
Mai TV’s coverage of the Fiji Water Flying Fijians vs All Blacks test match is brought to you in partnership with Fiji Airways and Vodafone Fiji.
