Former Fiji 7s rep Sainivalati Vunibola says the FIJI Water Flying Fijians need to strengthen their level of defence ahead of their second Pacific Nations Cup match against Samoa this week.
Vunibola adds the team will need to refine the area well as they head further into the competition following their 32-10 win against Tonga last Saturday.
"They need to try and strengthen their defence since some weak areas for us Fijians are in preparing ourselves to handle the teams we will face," he shared with Times Sports yesterday.
While he made the call for refinement to be made in the Mick-Byrne coached team, he shared his sentiments on their performance against Tonga.
"Now that the team is in Tier One, I had seen them play last week and found it to be very different."
He also regarded the Tongans highly, noting their 30-16 win over Samoa on home soil in round one of the PNC.
"As for Tonga, I know they are tier two, but they defeated Samoa and that game was fiercer," he said.
Tonga, meanwhile, has slipped to second place in Pool A of the PNC with four points and Samoa with zero, while the Flying Fijians now lead the pool with five points.
In making the call for the team to up the ante this week against the Samoans, he has also conveyed his well wishes to the Tevita Ikanivere-captained team.
"For this week, I know it will be a good game, and I wish them well and I know they will do their best," he said.
Vunibola was a former Fiji 7s rep who played in the World Sevens Series in the early 2010s and upon his debut at the Gold Coast 7s in 2011, was the oldest player in the series to do so, at 39-years-old.
Meanwhile, the Flying Fijians face Samoa this Saturday at the Rotorua International Stadium in New Zealand with kick-off scheduled at 3pm.