Match News and Current Form
Fiji are preparing to defend their Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) title later this year with this their second and final mid-year hitout, and the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva will be drenched in sunlight as they make their first home appearance since the 2024 PNC. Their qualification for the 2027 World Cup (RWC) is already assured and so every game from hereon will form part of their preparation for the tournament.
They were admirable during last weekend’s 21-18 loss to Australia and came home noticeably strongly, recording the majority of their points during the second half for the sixth time in seven games. The one exception in that period was a devastating 40-point loss to Scotland during the northern autumn, which will be on their minds as they seek to add the Scots to their Tier 1 scalps from the last 12 months (Wales and Japan).
Scotland have every reason to treat both this and their upcoming visit to Samoa ruthlessly. The top-six nations (likely as of the end of this year) will earn a seeded place in one of the six groups for the 2027 RWC and Scotland head into this weekend in seventh place just behind Argentina. Should they win here and Argentina either draw with or lose to England this weekend, the Scots will leapfrog them into sixth place.
There’s also the autumn internationals to consider later this year, but for now the focus is to ensure that they can close this game out properly after throwing away advantageous positions in Six Nations losses to both France and England earlier this year whilst also coming so close to blowing a 24-12 lead away to the Maori All Blacks last weekend, albeit eventually winning as big outsiders.
Head-to-Head History
Scotland are on a four-game winning streak against Fiji that began in 2018 (54-17) and saw them win 57-17 in Edinburgh last year. The average winning margin across those four games was 30 points.
Hot Stats and Streaks
• Fiji won all five of their games as pre-match favourites in 2024.
• Fiji scored first points (either try or goal) in only two of their 12 games last year.
• Scotland lost six of their last seven games as outsiders.
• The first half was the highest scoring half in five of Scotland’s six games in 2025.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Salesi Rayasi made a successful debut for Fiji last week, following up a brace in his last game for Vannes with a try against Australia. Scotland winger Darcy Graham recently recorded a hat-trick for Edinburgh and scored tries in his last two internationals.
Mesake Doge and Sireli Maqala come in for Peni Ravai and Iosefo Balewairik as the only two changes to Fiji’s XV. Matt Fagerson and Kyle Steyn return to the Scotland lineup.
Betting Analysis
Knowing that Scotland’s focus is on their World Rugby ranking, they should be right up for this contest and we’re expecting them to cover a +5.5 point handicap against Fiji’s powerhouse XV.