Fiji, having comfortably seen off Tonga, Samoa, Japan, and given France a close game, maybe this result was not as big a surprise, bearing in -mind how poor England have been.

Its going to work wonders for their confidence, and surely go in to the pool game against Wales as favourites. It may well be the we will need to look more to the Australian game as the key one for a place in the knock -out stages of WC ? 

For those who have seen the game, I welcome your observations.

I am hoping there will be some indicators where the Fijians may be vulnerable.

I saw the game Pimp & a few things stood out for me about Fiji. We are all used to seeing them busting tackles & offloading brilliantly but they have changed their overall game. Firstly they are far more disciplined which is brought about in part by being fitter and of course by finally realising that handing decent opposition field position gets you nowhere in a hurry. Second point is that they seem to have found a reliable 10. Caleb Muntz at 23 is relatively new on the scene but he gave a very mature display in guiding his team around the field & a 100% goal kicking return is useful. The final stand out thing was the number of metres post contact they were able to make throughout the team. 

Their scrum is solid & the lineout is the weaker part of their game; unfortunately Wales do not possess an efficient lineout so will be challenged to take them on there. The Welsh midfield & wings are in for a tough afternoon as they have power and pace to burn. They are going to be a serious threat in our pool and neither England or Argentina will fancy them in a potential quarter final. 

As for England - it ain't pretty. A few years ago I thought that Itoje would go on to become one of biggest stars in World Rugby but his form has fallen off a cliff. England do not have the forward power to bully teams anymore, they lack control at half back & to my absolute shock I witnessed Freddie Stewart have an absolute mare under the high ball. Confidence is clearly at an all time low. For me if Marcus Smith was any other nationality he would be No 1 10 but England seem to think he's 3rd choice. 

I am very interested  in Will's assessment  of the way we should play,and it's probably  correct. 

For years we have been kicking infield  and trusting  our rush defence. 

It's now " horses for courses now  " really, so we have to adjust  tactics , if not could well be 'goodnight'  for Wales!

The one thing now,  is that Wales go in to this game lower in the world  ranking than Fiji . In comparison  to when Alfie and Co, who infamously  lost to Fiiji ,playing a loose game, probably  against pre- arranged tactics , the result was  then a shock, it will be no shock now,  and Fiji will  start as favourites .

It could mean we will be playing  the aussies for a place in knock out phase of the tournament !

Wil's assessment is probably on balance the way to go but my worry is that their lineout is probably better than ours despite it being their major weakness. Gats has got to get a huge amount of work into the starting pack & make the right selections - Dafydd Jenkins, Rowlands & Tschiunza at 4,5 & 6 with Wainwright at 8. I would also be tempted to start with Dee who has looked the best thrower we have. If Fiji get any parity in the set piece they will punish us for sure. 

1. Fiji now ranked higher than Wales, so a defeat would be no surprise.

2. Fiji make yards after the tackle so need to be extra aggressive in that area, or have an effective plan B.

3. Fiji have a very good kicker and will take points on offer - so no silly pens within kicking range. 

4. Their set piece has improved a lot. 

5. They have some dangerous strike runners, especially no 14 Ravutaumada.

To win, I think Wil has the right idea:

1. Squeeze the lineout, look for weaknesses and kick to touch or for goal... but also

2. When in the red zone, go through the phases and look for players out of position... for England's try, the otherwise excellent Ravutaumada had drifted infield, so a pass to the wing gave May an easy-ish run-in.

3. Also - GUARD AGAINST INTERCEPTIONS!  Fiji are looking for these and could have punished England more heavily but for being recalled for previous infringements. Other side of that coin is - if a team are looking for interceptions, the dummy is always on...

Don’t disagree with you there. What does it say 4 years ago Lydiate was discarded, and now even older he is in the squad? Wish Plumtree was there instead.

I think we should 'hot-wire' Gatland, both Will and Aber's comments on tactics !

My first recall of Fiji,  was as as a small boy, and incredibly  enthusiastic  scarlet, I had an encounter with whole Fijian squad  (this was in the 60's.

Luckily for me my grandfather  was Chief cashier to the Borough of Llanelli, ( then a unitary  authority). His office in the old town hall, was just down the corridor  from the council chamber and the mayor's parlour. When the mayor  entertained the Fiji squad , prior to a game with Llanelli,  Grandpa got me in for their autographs. I was so thrilled, particularly  when this huge Fijian picked me up and put me on his shoulders. I even have a photo if the event.

I have also had an affection  for Fiji, ever since, and wish them well in the WC, except I'm their game against  Wales. 

That has a theme a little like the 2019 blueprint?  One thing Gatland has proven he can do is to devise/impose the plan needed.  Then it is up to the players.....and it is not pretty, but it has worked before.  

I see some good potential with the generation of players coming through, and I would not be surprised if we sneak by.

iirc, Wales were the first country in the NH to invite Fiji over 'ere to play a test - and it turned out into a proper nail-biter... a quick check shows that it wasn't an 'official' test, though and Fiji played a 'Wales XV'. I'm sure most in Wales expected an easy win, but it was anything but... the decisive score came towards the end when no. 8 Alun Pask, carrying the ball one-handed, went on a run where he dummied this way and that before the try was scored (probably by Pask himself - not 100% sure)... ah, yes - found the film:

https://twitter.com/BBCScrumV/status/1180135485609562114?lang=en-GB

Wales are somehow still favourites with the bookies for this game, equally surprisingly England are also favourites against Argentina.

Tempted by odds of50-1 being offered for a  draw

I'm going for Wales topping the group and facing Japan in the Q/F (don't think England will get out of the group) and then Argentina in the S/F.

If England can't beat a Japanese team that shipped 40+ points against Italy Borthwick may want to consider emigrating. . Also thats a bold call on Argentina - If I am correct they will have to beat one of the top 4 ranked teams to get to a semi final. 

Don’t we get New Zealand, France, South Africa or Ireland in the Semi Final?

That is my understanding if you rule out Scotland of course. 

The Aussies had a lot of territory and possession; their starting scrum looked very powerful; they had a very good ball-carrying 8, and two good and tall wings - the cross-kick to these was a key tactic. They were better than I expected...

but...

they gave away a lot of penalties for high tackles - not cardable offences in the ref's view, though another might have taken an 'adding up' view on that; they turned over a lot of ball; they had a kicker who had a complete off day (no guarantee to be repeated v Wales). They looked to be a work in progress.

So, definitely beatable, but I would certainly guard against complacency... if we let them have so much territory, will we defend as effectively? And - they were vulnerable to the pacy counter-attack from Penaud especially, and the other wing Villiere too - can Wales, with Rees-Zammitt and one other, do the same? They tended to defend narrow, and so were vulnerable after a few phases to a ball spun rapidly to the other wing. Passing has to be very long and accurate for that to work.

We'll see  how it goes.

I agree with you Aber. I too watched the game. The Aussie set piece is solid & they have an effective carrying game with their front row, Skelton & back rowers all capable carriers. Their 10 Carter Gordon is green yes but he is attack minded & they have Serevi to come back in at 12 who is a real handful. Both their wingers are dangerous. Gordon missed a lot of points off the T but they were all very close misses, well struck mostly from tight angles.

Most of the top 3/4 teams won't be losing too much sleep over them but they are more than capable of beating Wales thats for sure. Gatland does not have a pack capable of bullying them and I have to wonder where the points are going to come from apart from penalties. Bearing in mind the importance of accumulating points and the aerial battle it would not surprise me to see Halfpenny starting at 15 with Liam & LRZ on the flanks.

As for France it was a pleasure watching Jalibert grow into the role of No 10 during that game. He started very quietly but once he found his feet he was fantastic. If only Gatland was confident enough to give the 10 shirt to Costelow I would fancy our chances a little more. 

Got a feeling that Oz will come good, they haven't had the easiest run of games (to put it mildly!) and agree that they've got a good set piece and some really dangerous backs, once they win a few games and get some confidence I think them and Argentina will be the strong teams on our side of the draw.

As for England there's a lot of big names who have possibly had a bit too much hype who aren't as good as the English press think, guys like Itoje, Genge, Vunipola, Daly, Earl, Willis etc. aren't the world class performers they think they are, they need more grunt like Curry, Ludlam, Hill (amazed he's not in the squad). They look like a team who don't even rate themselves.

Samoa look like the bigger threat to England's place than Japan, they've been much stronger than Japan over recent months and were very good in awful weather on the weekend.

I'd love to see some of the unfancied teams in their groups to get through, teams like Fiji, Samoa, Georgia and Scotland.