Rory Darge eager to test himself against Fiji's ‘benchmark for physicality'
The match is of critical importance to Scotland's hopes of nudging into the world's top six, which would guarantee them a much more favourable draw in the pool stages for the 2027 World Cup.
Rory Darge is relishing the physical challenge of facing Fiji on Saturday (Zac Goodwin/PA)
Darge said: 'They (Fiji) are the benchmark for physicality, and we're on their patch in a place where not many if any of us have ever played rugby, so that's why it's exciting.
'You want to go up against the best and ultimately that's why everyone plays this game. It's a great shared experience playing rugby in a place where there are such different challenges.'
Fiji pushed Australia close in a 21-18 defeat last Sunday and the Scotland squad are braced for a much tougher test than the comfortable win they secured against the same opponents at Murrayfield last November.
Fergus Burke will make his Scotland debut against Fiji (Adam Davy/PA)
And Darge insists that although it has been noted in the build-up, his side must cast aside any thoughts of the importance of the fixture to the longer-term picture.
'It (the world ranking) is something there's been a little bit of talk about, but you can't really look beyond Fiji because it is such a big challenge,' he said. 'It's an exciting one and we're definitely aware of what we need to produce.'
Saracens fly-half Fergus Burke will make his debut in Suva having featured in the squad for this year's Six Nations campaign without seeing any action.
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