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Fiji boss Vern Cotter's message after shock loss to Samoa

Head Coach Vern Cotter of Fiji looks on prior to the International Test Match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Fiji at Forsyth Barr Stadium on July 10, 2021 in Dunedin, New Zealand. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

Head coach Vern Cotter has told his Fijian players to take their narrow 20-23 loss to Samoa “on the chin” and use the pain of the defeat to make the team tougher to beat at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

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Fiji had the chance to kick a last gasp penalty and draw the match but opted for a line out and lost the ball which saw unbeaten Samoa claim the World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup title.

Cotter believes the decision to try and win the game replicated the kind of critical decision the players will face at the World Cup where they are in Pool with Wales, Australia, Georgia and the final qualifier which could be USA.

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      Cotter told local media: “That is a point in these players’ career where they can say what we need to do. Maybe we have a line-out with five minutes to go in the RWC and we will nail it. However, these experiences are not nice and you learn from these experiences which is the key.

      “So this for me is a picture of where we are at. It is a clear example of where we are at. Samoa deserved their win. I think we could have won but this is where we are at. The important thing is that we sort things out. We did nearly everything right in the first half and took a lead of 17-3. I thought we would have come even stronger in the second half but then we slipped.

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      “Samoa scored first in the second half and then probably took the control of the game whereas we kept on making simple errors. The game against Tonga (36-0)we had a bit going for us. Then we gave the game to Australia A (18-32) and the second 40 minutes to Samoa. So the most important thing to be honest is knowing where we are at and where we need to be in November.

      “I know everybody is disappointed. We all want to win and do better. But let’s take it on the chin and work on from here. That will be the discussions that we will be having with everybody. It is like we win together and lose together.”

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      Manu Samoa captain Michael Alaalatoa praised his players saying: “It took us 80 minutes to get there, we know that the Fijians are world-class and they showed that in the first half.

      “They put a lot of pressure on our set piece especially, and especially at scrum time but I’m so proud of our boys to hang deep. In the past, we would have lost those games but we are starting to build a winning culture.”

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      1 Comment
      a
      azam 930 days ago

      Fiji'problems lie in the tantalising handling of the ball at crucial moments and especially knockons

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      RedWarrior 14 minutes ago
      Many England fans echoing the same gripe following Six Nations loss

      The English defense was excellent in the first half. This is considering Ireland's attack has improved significantly since the Autumn with former Leinster attack coach Goodman. Ireland were beaten by NZ in the Autumn, are behind SA and arguably behind France so de facto 4th in order (rankings take time to catch up) As Eddie Jones said Ireland are still in that elite group so England's domination in the first half is noteworthy.

      I believe they have spent the time since the Autumn largely on defence. On broken play they were relying on Smiths instint along with some jiggery pokery. For Smiths early line break a Twindaloo blocked Baird which left the gap for smith. It looked like he did Aki, but Baird was a little late arriving and clever play by Tom Curry allowed the gap for Smith. Earls line break was Smith spotting Baird coming out and beating him with a beautiful pass to Earl.

      We saw the rehearsed plays for a couple of Ireland's tries. The Aki try was just identifying that England tended to hide Smith on the wing creating a vulnerability which Ireland exploited with one of Akis great finishes.

      Although Ireland were relaxing at the end the two English tries were good enough quality and we may see more of it next week (Scotland will also have taken note).

      Although on the easier side of the draw Borthwick almost took England to a RWC final.

      But in common with the top4 you need to have firepower to get those tries in big games. Can Borthwick manage that? I don't think so.

      Next week even if England have a great first half again, you would be looking at France converting 3 of those Irish chances and pushing on after the break.

      Can Borthwick develop a plan to beat France in the next few years. If the answer is no England need to find someone who can.

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