Josua Tuisova scores the opening try of the match. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Flying Fijians will be playing for more than just a win against Portugal on Monday morning [Fiji time] in Toulouse.
Players have rallied in support of utility backline player Josua Tuisova, who has opted to stay with the team to chase a quarterfinal spot at the Rugby World Cup despite the death of his eldest son Tito Ratulevu.
Tuisova was told hours before taking the field against Georgia that seven-year-old Tito had died.
Tuisova did not mention the news after he was notified by his family and silently went about playing his part in the win against the Georgians.
It was after the win that the news was revealed.
Tuisova said he is going to be dedicating the next game to his late son.
"Thank you all for the overwhelming support and kind condolences messages. Your words of comfort during this difficult time mean a lot to me and my family," Tuisova said in Bordeaux on Wednesday morning.
"We are truly grateful for your heartfelt messages.
"Son, this is for you. Thank you for the wonderful memories. You will always be remembered."
The team is not discussing Tuisova's loss, with head coach Simon Raiwalui saying they respect Tuisova's wishes.
"Josua has asked respectfully for that not to be discussed, so it won't be discussed," he told the media in Bordeaux.
Tuisova has received condolence messages from around the rugby world following his loss.
Fiji winger Josua Tuisova is mobbed by teammates after scoring a try. Photo: AFP
Focus on Portugal
Raiwalui said the team is now focused on Portugal and are preparing for what he believes will be a tougher clash than Georgia.
"They are a very, very good team. They love to play rugby," he said.
"I'm not surprised as we have been looking at them since we knew they were in our pool.
"They play a really good brand of rugby and they have showed that at this World Cup."
Raiwalui said Portgual has a very exciting back three and their forwards are really coming into their own as well.
"You saw that in the Wallabies game; they put pressure on them at scrum time and they had a good lineout. So we are expecting a really good match."
Raiwalui said they have had a review of how his side performed against Georgia and identified some areas they will need to improve on if they are to win against Portugal.
"I think a lot of our boys didn't have a good game so we assessed why we were a little bit off [against Georgia].
"There is no pointing fingers at certain positions.
"We will look at the team; we are challenging the team at training."
Flying Fijians head coach Simon Raiwalui and Viliame Mata during the press conference at the Reinassance Hotel in Bordeaux. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Iliesa Tora
Simon Raiwalui said halfback was a key position and they are lucky to have the experience of Frank Lomani and the versatility of Peni Matawalu and Simione Kuruvoli.
"Frank has got a lot of experience. He has played Super Rugby with the Rebels and came over to Northhampton for a stint and then we were lucky enough to get him back for the Drua," Raiwalui said.
"Frank is a superb athlete; he is getting that experience now where he is starting to control the game.
He said they have been looking for consistency in terms of their selection and they are also very aware some players have not played.
"They are pushing hard for selection and we put the challenge out this week to go and win that spot. It is obviously a very important game for us."
Lomani told the media on Wednesday that Portugal will not be an easy team to beat.
"They are a good side. They are very good with ball in hand," he said.
"We have a lot of respect for Portugal; they played against Wales and played well. They drew against Georgia but we are just focusing on ourselves for now."
Prop savours time with team
Replacement prop forward Emosi Tuqiri is savouring his inclusion in the Flying Fijians squad.
He was called up last week to join the squad following an injury to Jone Koroiduadua.
Tuqiri, who hails from a famous Fijian rugby family, says even his cousin and former Flying Fijian Nemani Nadolo was giving him advice as he prepared to fly to France.
"It is a dream come true," he said.
"I was actually just at home in Fiji when I got the call; totally unexpected.
"The last World Cup I hadn't even played Super Rugby and wasn't a professional, so these are the guys I used to watch on TV and now I get to rub shoulders with them."
Tuqiri said the call-up didn't sink in straightaway.
"I don't think it sunk in when I was in Fiji - there were too many emotions. You don't know whether to be excited or nervous or happy.
"When I arrived at Paris airport and there was a World Cup car waiting for me, a Range Rover or something, I was shocked it was there for me because I came by myself. That was when it really sunk in.
"When I arrived in camp, the boys came out from the gym - all the players you look up to. I think it really sunk in then. Now I am training alongside them and learning.
"I was speaking to Nemani (Nadolo) and he was very proud and happy."
Photo: AFP / VALERY HACHE
Tonga positive as they prepare for Romania
Meanwhile, Tonga defence coach Dale MacLeod says the experience of playing against top teams like the Springboks has given the players more knowledge as they continue their preparation for their last pool match against Romania.
He said despite the loss the team learned a lot.
"There were a lot of positives. We can be really proud of a lot of the things that are starting to grow in our group," he said.
"Right across our whole game there were some real positives against the world champions.
"They are a very, very good side - we can be pretty proud of our performance.
"You can see if we were playing another tier-one team next week we'd be right in the fight. If we had played this well against Ireland and Scotland they probably would have been different score lines I believe.
MacLeod said there needs to be more opportunities for tier 2 nations.
"It was so iconic to play against a team like the Springboks and you think about it, 16 years [since the last time Tonga played South Africa] - that is a lot of players that don't get to do that. That needs to be better."
He said they had focused on each team each week and now turn their focus to Romania.
"We looked at it and thought, especially with the teams we have played, three of the top five in the world - we just had to take every game week by week," he said.
"Rugby players like it that way.
"You start talking too far into the future, they forget about the tasks they are on and you don't get the performance you want."
Photo: AFP / CHRISTOPHE SIMON
MacLeod also joined the call for World Rugby to do more for tier-2 teams like Tonga so they can develop and be on par with the best in the world.
"I think it's a World Rugby thing and how that could work is when you do a northern tour at the end of each year, they get an opportunity to play one of the home nations," he said.
"We came over last year, we played four tests but never got to play against a tier one.
"You look at Fiji and Samoa - they have been pretty proactive around that. They consistently each year get some tier one.
"That is a little bit of World Rugby but that's also a little bit of Tonga and their connections and interactions."
""For us we want to keep the boys fresh so it'll probably be a little bit less this week. We travel today so that has a toll on the players as well which is not ideal," MaLeod said.
"We will travel back to Paris and we'll have a very light couple of days, Thursday off, main training Friday and just prepare for Romania.