It’s a die-or-die situation for the Macuata rugby men’s team if they are to retain their Skipper Cup spot next season.

This is the gist of Macuata coach, Voreqe Bainimarama’s interview with SUNsports yesterday as they target for a bonus point win.

The Northerners face Tailevu in the last round robin game at Subrail Park in Labasa, tomorrow, at 3pm.

Bainimarama was approached after the Macuata players returned from their gym session at Nasekula Village, yesterday.

He said the players were aware of the task ahead and the win against Yasawa, has boosted their morale.

“We are treating this Tailevu game as the final because a loss will see us being relegated to the Vanua Cup. The win is only our last resort,” Bainimarama said.

Preparation remains on track without any major injuries to the players. He said only some players are experiencing body pains after the Yasawa game.

Bainimarama has handed the responsibility of game management and effective decision making to halfback, Jone Vatuwaliwali.

He labelled him as their trump card especially in exploiting the opposition defence.

“His level of skills and quick ball recycling will help increase the match intensity and for us to score more tries.”

Bainimarama said another area they had worked on was on their scrums.

“Preparing for the Ba and Yasawa game, we really worked hard to address our scrum issues but after these games, this area has improved.”

Macuata sits at the bottom four of the Skipper Cup points ranking and a win is crucial for their survival.

Bainimarama said they would adopt a possession based- game where they need to run ball instead of aimless kicking.

“Our kickers are also aware of it and this was an area which led to our downfall in a few matches. However, we will take our penalty kicks to keep the score line ticking.”

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