John McKee has told Sports Mole that it was "massively important" his side got the better of Uruguay in their last Rugby World Cup pool encounter at the Stadium:mk this evening.
The Fijians earned plenty of plaudits for the performances that they put in earlier in the tournament against England, Wales and Australia, but defeats in each of those games meant that their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals had been extinguished before they took on the South Americans in Milton Keynes.
Nevertheless, according to McKee, the 47-15 victory was not only "important" for his players, but also the Fijian supporters.
"It was massively important [not to go home winless]. There's been a lot of hard work in the preparations. We've got a talented squad, but we've faced some huge challenges in the first three games we played," said the Kiwi.
"We came here with high ambitions to thrive and maybe upset one or two of the big teams. That didn't happen, but it's important that tonight we got some consolation.
"It's important for the group and also important for the fans back home and all the Fijians around the world that have shown support for our team all the way through the tournament."
McKee, who took charge of Fiji in 2014, has recently been linked with moves to France and Japan.
Liam Apicella
