Fiji skipper Wes Naiqama admits his players won't have the fitness to match it with Australia in tomorrow's World Cup semifinal, but says they do have what it takes "within".
The Bati have emerged as the World Cup's most spiritual outfit with their post-match hymn singing - and
Newcastle centre Naiqama is hoping that will help overcome a lack of battle-hardened National Rugby League stars at the Sydney Football Stadium tomorrow.
Asked how his side can possibly upset favourites Australia, Naiqama said endurance would be the key.
"I think it will be just a matter of staying with them for the 80 [minutes]," he said.
"We know what Australia are capable of, they're going to come out hard and it's just a matter of grinding out the whole game."
But Naiqama agreed keeping pace with the Kangaroos would be tough.
"One thing we'll lack is our game fitness seeing that the Australian side's stacked with NRL players who do it as a job," he said.
"But hopefully [we] can find something within to keep on pushing through that.
"We've prepared ourselves mentally and physically, it's just trying to get spiritually prepared for it as well."
Some Fijian rugby sevens-style razzle dazzle is also part of the game-plan.
"I think that will come," Naiqama said. "We've still got a structure ... that's what we've done those first three games, we've played a structured game. The time will come when we'll be throwing it around and that's probably something that we could use to our advantage."
The Bati will come up against one of their heroes in Fijian-born Kangaroos prop Petero Civoniceva at the SFS.
"He's king back home, him and [Wallabies winger] Lote [Tuqiri] obviously," Naiqama said. "The boys respect him ... but the boys will do what they have to do."
- AAP
