With one game under their belt, Nauru will look at working more on their scrummaging and defensive work going into their second game against the Solomon Islands.
Nauru Coach Dominic Tabuna said that their first game against Papua New Guinea has provided them with a lot of experience and motivation for the tournament.
“When I think of all the nations here playing here, I would assume PNG would be the toughest to beat with the fact that this is their home ground and their own weather and their own crowd. It all adds up with the experience they have over us, which is immense,” Tabuna said.
“I think our line out from the start (in the last game) was at 100 per cent completion. That for any team is tremendous and for a first timer like us that is huge, so we take that out of the game and we use that as one of our strengths,” he added.
Tabuna has made a few changes in the starting line up along with two players who will be making their debut coming off from the bench.
Martin Tannang and Santana Halstead who were not part of the 23man squad against PNG will be playing their first test.
The team had a team talk Monday night where later the team was announced.
Nauru who made their debut last week against the PNG Pukpuks, play the first match for Round Two against the Solomon Islands at 1.00 PM, while PNG plays Niue at 3.30 PM in the second match.
“The support back at home has been huge from the social networks and the boys have been getting a lot of support not only from family and friends but from people that have been watching them, not just from our island but overseas - those who have watched the game on livestream that is available to almost anyone around the world if they wanted to watch,” Tabuna said.
Photo Nauru Rugby Union/Facebook Caption: The team at team talk Monday night