Naiqama: We need to be better

Fiji confirmed their place in the Rugby League World Cup Quarter Final over the weekend thanks to a 30-14 win against Scotland at Kingston Park, Newcastle on Saturday Night.

The Fijian Bati confirmed their spot in the knockout stages of the tournament thanks to back-to-back wins against Italy and Scotland after losing their World Cup opener against Australia.

However, Fiji captain and 2023 Huddersfield Giants recruit Kevin Naiqama was far from impressed by his side's performance during their decisive win against the Bravehearts on Saturday. 

"It's really disappointing to be honest," Admitted Naiqama.

"It was just an ill-disciplined performance from us and we were really lucky to come away with the win. Scotland played a really good footy game and kept it simple. It's sort of out of character for us but it?s something we can fix and be better for."

Scotland - who had conceded 84 points against reigning champions Australia in their last outing - showed unrelenting spirit against a well-fancied Fiji team. And Naiqama was full of praise for the Bravehearts as he reflected on an underwhelming evening for the Fijian team.

? Fiji and Scotland battled it out in their final group game of RLWC2021 at Kingston Park, watch the extended highlights now.#RLWC2021 | @fijirugbyleague | @scotlandrl pic.twitter.com/c86MQ2Lz2x
— Rugby League World Cup 2021 (@RLWC2021) October 29, 2022

"I thought they [Scotland] played really well - from their forwards to their outside backs they competed well. That's what kept them in the game. 

"They were very disciplined in what they did, they got to their kicks and put a lot of pressure on us. It made it a lot harder for us to get out of our end and in the end, it made for a very entertaining game."

Now, Naiqama and his Fijian teammates are set to face the current number one ranked side, New Zealand, in the Quarter Finals. The two sides met during the same stage of the previous World Cup in 2017 - with Fiji coming out on top that day in a low scoring contest. 

A lot has changed since then and Naiqama recognises the size of the challenge ahead against a star-studded Kiwis team. 

"It's a big game against New Zealand next week. There's a lot of learnings we can take out of that [the Scotland game], we are going to have to be a lot better than that because New Zealand are a quality team. If we want to compete with them, we're going to have to put in a very disciplined performance and be at our very best."