Farebrother-Sullivan Cup holder Naitasiri plans to make changes to its starting line-up for the first defence against Nadi this weekend.

Coach Eroni Vereivalu said while changes had been forced by injuries, the main selection criteria will be a team that can counter Nadi’s firepower.

“We all know that Nadi is a very strong team and we’re doing the best we can to counter them,” he said.

“There will be some changes made to the line-up due to injury and I’ve postponed the final selection until tomorrow to give time for recovery.

“Our selection of the first line-up is also based on fitness. Players will have to meet the criteria if they want to be named in the run-on side.”

Naitasiri last held the coveted cup in 2006 and only three players from that winning outfit are in the current squad.

Vereivalu confirmed that side was laced with determined young players. 

“Only three experienced players from our winning side still remain and I will be using them as our impact players this week,” he said.

“We still have the likes of number eight Senirusi Seruvakula, Maseikula Gaunavou and speedster Mosese Luveitasau, who is our current skipper.

“We have a lot of new players in the side and most of them are from the Fiji Warriors and Under-20 side.”

The match will be played at the National Stadium after being earmarked earlier for Ratu Cakobau Park, Nausori.

Already in a confident mood, Naitasiri has lifted its preparation to another level.

“It’s our big game and it’s also a big preparation for us,” Vereivalu said.

“We’ve lifted our preparation for how we prepared against Northland last week to what we’re doing now to face the champions of provincial rugby.

“We’re taking things very seriously polishing our lineout and set pieces. Rugby is all about pressure and when we apply pressure the flair is there and if we don’t our opponent will always take advantage of us.

“We know Nadi is tough so they should come with high expectations for a tough game.”

The Naitasiri-Nadi match kicks off at 3pm on Saturday.

Fijilive

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