Vodafone Fijiana XV’s lock Jade Coates says people may have forgotten that the last World Cup in New Zealand in 2022 was their first ever World Cup.

She says they don’t often get the chance to play against top-quality sides, but it is exciting to return and face those teams again.

According to Coates, they have come a long way, not only physically but also in their knowledge of the game.

The 28-year-old, who is making her World Cup debut after missing the previous tournament through injury, described the privilege of wearing the white jersey on rugby’s biggest stage.

She says the team is drawing confidence from their improved performance against Scotland over the weekend, despite falling short on the scoreboard and are looking forward to playing Wales on Sunday.

“We’re just so grateful to have the opportunity to play against some top-quality sides. It is my first World Cup after missing the last one and the last week of prep doing my ankle, so for me, it means a lot to wear the jersey and any time I get to lace up for boots. Scotland’s a quality side and I can’t fault what they did over the weekend, they played the 80 minutes, but I’m really proud of our girls and the growth from last week. We just keep moving forward as a group.”

Coates says the progress of Fijiana rugby over the past three years has been significant, especially with limited exposure to top-tier competition.

She believes those building blocks will be crucial as Fiji turn their attention to a must-win clash against Wales.

“Our focus for this game was what we could control and I felt like we got some wins in today. We won some good moments and we got the crowd up and standing and it’s pretty cool to see. It just shows our capability and the skillsets that we have and we’ve just got to take those wins. We’ll go back to the drawing board and really hope to give Wales a good run and get the win on top.”

Coates also highlighted the team’s internal competition and commitment as key drivers of improvement.

She adds that they keep reminding themselves to focus on what they can do better and what they can control.

She says they are here to compete, and each week they challenge each other for positions, which helps them improve as a team.

She adds that they came out with a stronger performance this week compared to last and believes it will only get better from here.

Fijiana will meet Wales in their final pool game this Sunday at 1.45am at Sandy Park, Exeter.

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