Fiji vs England: In-form Giuta Wainikolo aims to thrash England

“We saw England play South Africa and South Africa are number one in the world, so they are physical, but I think we are more physical than South Africa,” he said.

“We will fix what we lacked in the last match (39-24 loss to Wales).

“We’ll balance it out and be a bit more physical because South Africa did it with England.”

Wainqolo, 6ft 2in and 15st 4lb, leans towards football drills with some of his own strength, speed and evasion.

“I played football in school and then was blessed to be selected in Fiji’s under-20 team,” he recalls.

“I have been training with players who are now representing Fiji (at senior level), some of them playing for clubs in New Zealand and Australia.

“I loved the agility training we did – I still do it, it’s great. It helps my ankles, legs, change of direction, passing sideways, I love it.”

But, perhaps the most important muscle is mindset.

Knowing the Olympic Sevens stage would be a prominent platform to land a lucrative overseas contract, the 22-year-old Wainikolo, playing domestically in Fiji and not part of the top-level Sevens circuit, forced his way into the country’s 12-strong All-Star squad for Tokyo 2021.

A Covid-hit build-up has turned into a week-long training camp for Fiji’s players, four months away from their families as they scramble for lockdown and their title defence.

In Japan, Wainikolo was the team’s top try-scorer, crossing five times in their gold-winning campaign.

The move he wanted came. He was signed by French giants Toulon.

But, at the end of the 2024–25 season, Vainicolo felt that, with league rules encouraging the top 14 clubs to support homegrown talent, he fell behind the team’s French wings Gabin Villiers and Gael Drian.

He moved to Lyon and duly lit up the league.

“There are no JIF (jueurs ésuses des filières de formations – quota conditions for homegrown players) problems at Lyon, I can play every match,” Vainicolo said.

“I was very happy. I don’t care about stats and tries. I’m enjoying the game. I love this game.”