Fiji sense major upset against World Cup hosts England

Fiji are looking for a boilover victory in the World Cup opener against England on Friday as coach John McKee plotted the best route to get his side into the knockout stages for just the third time.

"Everyone's fit and available so we'll be playing our strongest team," the New Zealand-born coach said Monday.

While Pool A has been widely referred to as the pool of death -- with England, Australia, Wales and Fiji, vying for the two quarter-final slots along with outsiders Uruguay -- McKee has described the pool as a group of opportunity.

"We're looking to those games to take some scalps and progress to the play-offs. There's going to be a lot of twists and turns in the pool," he said.

"We know it's a massive challenge ahead of us. England are a very strong side, if we let them they can dominate the game. The atmosphere I think will be great, it's a big motivator for the players."

By holding nothing back against England, and with Wales weakened by injuries, McKee appears to be targeting the two northern hemisphere sides.

A win over England would give him the luxury of rotating players if required when they play Australia five days later.
Source: AFP