Lomani rates reserves

The FIJI Water Flying Fijians were taken to the wire by a determined Georgian side in their 17-12 victory at Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, France on Sunday.

Georgia took a 9-nil lead in the first spell and Fiji came back in the second half with the help of impact players.

Flying Fijians scrumhalf Frank Lomani came in to replace Simi Kuruvoli and executed well in his role to help his side win the match.

“(The bench) brought impact to the game. I think the impact players did that really well, converting opportunities,” Lomani said.

Lomani said he knew they had to play catch-up rugby with 29 minutes remaining but they had to remain calm when under pressure.

“I think the more calm we are, we are going to get opportunities. We went back to how we play, throwing the ball. If we are patient, we build phases and that is where opportunities come. We did that so we had opportunities, we scored the try and we built from there,” he said.

He added: “Georgia really wanted that win but for us, watching from inside, I think Fiji really wanted to play really fast and how we used to play. For us, it’s staying calm, patient, play the game plan and trusting it will work for us and it did.”