4 Oct 2014

Sport: November tour a valuable World Cup preview for Fiji

10:12 am on 4 October 2014

Flying Fijians coach John McKee says November's European Tour is an ideal chance to preview what they're likely to come across at next year's Rugby World Cup.

McKee named familiar a 30-man squad on Thursday for tests against France, Wales and the United States.

He says the matches are a chance to show they've made progress from the Pacific Nations Cup in June.

"This is a very important tour for us, less than 12 months out from the Rugby World Cup to really test ourselves against some of the top nations and the tier one nations and it's also good that in Cardiff in the World Cup we have two games in Cardiff, including Wales, so this is a very good preview for us this time around. It's not just about playing the games - the whole management group to get used to the whole of the processes and the pressure and the time-frames and that type of thing".

John McKee says while all players are selected on form, the tour is a big opportunity for the current squad to put themselves firmly in the World Cup frame.