Wales seek to banish 2007 Rugby W.Cup nightmare vs Fiji

Wales are casting a wary eye over Fiji as they seek to avoid the nightmare of 2007, when the flamboyant Pacific islanders shocked them at the very same stage of the World Cup. Four years ago, Welsh quarter-final ambitions foundered in Nantes when they tried to match Fiji's running game and were hit by a late Graham Dewes try to lose 34-38 in their final pool game. And last November, there were red faces in Cardiff when Fiji held Wales to a 16-16 draw, reinforcing the theory that the Welsh are vulnerable to Pacific sides after their twin World Cup upsets to Samoa. But Wales have already seen off Samoa in Hamilton, and they will go through behind defending champions South Africa unless they suffer a huge defeat on Sunday. Assistant coach Rob Howley said there had been no talk of the 2007 shock ahead of their last pool fixture also in the river city south of Auckland. "No relevance. We haven't talked about Fiji," Howley said. Prop Gethin Jenkins and scrum-half Mike Phillips are among a handful of survivors from Nantes, with veteran fly-half Stephen Jones now on the bench. But coach Warren Gatland, appointed after the 2007 campaign, has a largely new-look squad who are virtually through to the quarter-finals after two wins in Pool D. "We're definitely expecting a little bit of a confrontational, physical battle," said forwards coach Robyn McBride. "They're at their most dangerous when they're given their freedom to throw the ball around. They've got nothing to lose." Rhys Priestland gets the nod over Jones to start at fly-half while Scott Williams, who recorded a hat-trick of tries on his World Cup debut against Namibia, replaces Jonathan Davies at centre. Towering wing George North, who became the youngest try-scorer in World Cup history (19 years and 166 days) in Wales's rout of Namibia, is back on the wing but veteran Shane Williams misses out with a thigh strain. Fiji's loss to Samoa ended hopes of back-to-back quarter-finals but the team, which also had to contend with New Zealand's visa ban on players linked to Suva's military regime, is looking to the World Cup on a high. "We love playing Wales. The second-last time we beat them and last time we drew with them at their home ground. We're well aware of that," said captain Deacon Manu. "They won't take us lightly now, so we've got to be prepared for a challenge and make sure we finish on a high. We need to get things right tactically. We need to play in the right areas and have a good mix."