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Auckland - Wales are casting a wary eye over Fiji as they seek to avoid the nightmare of 2007, when the flamboyant Pacific islanders dashed their World Cup hopes at the very same stage of the competition.
Four years ago, Welsh quarter-final ambitions foundered in Nantes when they tried to match Fiji's running game and were hit by a late Graham Dewes try to lose 34-38 in their final pool game.
And last November, there were red faces in Cardiff when Fiji held Wales to a 16-16 draw, reinforcing the theory that the Welsh are vulnerable to Pacific sides after their twin World Cup upsets to Samoa.
But Wales have already seen off Samoa in Hamilton, and coach Rob Howley said there had been no talk of the 2007 shock ahead of Sunday's final Pool D game also in the river city south of Auckland.
"No relevance. We haven't talked about Fiji," Howley said.
Prop Gethin Jenkins and scrum-half Mike Phillips are among a handful of survivors from Nantes, with veteran fly-half Stephen Jones now on the bench.
But coach Warren Gatland, appointed after the 2007 campaign, has a new-look squad who are 2-1 for the tournament and appear as good as qualified behind pool leaders South Africa, the defending champions.
Howley said Fiji's wholesale changes of 10 players sent "danger signs" but he believed last year's surprise draw left Wales under no illusions about the task ahead.
"When you look at the world-class players they have and their ability to play rugby, their off-loading skills and their momentum, they're very good rugby players," he said.
"It keeps your feet on the ground having had that experience back in the autumn series. It's not a bad thing, in terms of the Welsh psyche.
"Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves and we think we're better than we are. But we realise how good this Fiji side are and they showed that (in November)."
Rhys Priestland gets the nod over Jones to start at fly-half while Scott Williams, who recorded a hat-trick of tries on his World Cup debut against Namibia, replaces Jonathan Davies at centre.
Towering wing George North, who became the youngest try-scorer in World Cup history (19 years and 166 days) in Wales's rout of Namibia, is back on the wing.
Fiji's defeat to Samoa ended their hopes of back-to-back quarter-finals but the team, which also had to contend with New Zealand's visa ban on players linked to Suva's military regime, is looking to end a difficult World Cup on a high.
"We love playing Wales. The second-last time we beat them and last time we drew with them at their home ground. We're well aware of that," said captain Deacon Manu.
"They won't take us lightly now, so we've got to be prepared for a challenge and make sure we finish on a high. We need to get things right tactically. We need to play in the right areas and have a good mix."
