Fijiana captain Karalaini Naisewa is anticipating a fierce contest against Pacific rivals Samoa in their upcoming second match of the WXV 3 tournament this week.

Naisewa acknowledged the challenge of facing Samoa, a team known for its physicality and determination.

She said that Fijiana is expecting a hard-fought encounter, noting that both sides share a deep rivalry and familiarity with each other’s style of play.

“It’s nothing new, the sun in Dubai is the same with back at home. So with that, we thank the girls for putting up a good fight – we’ve seen a lot of errors but then again Samoa is not an easy team and we will try to come out stronger this week.”

Despite the challenges, Naisewa says she remains confident in her team’s preparation.

The Vodafone Fijiana XV will face Samoa at 2am on Sunday.