TAULUPE Faletau has been spoilt for sevens this season.

In regional colours the Newport Gwent Dragons number eight has played alongside in-form scavenger Nic Cudd and last weekend he enjoyed joining forces with Sam Warburton, who was pick of the Wales players in the gut-wrenching defeat to Australia.

And tomorrow afternoon Faletau and blindside Dan Lydiate will join forces with another Lion when Justin Tipuric, a flanker with the ball skills and mobility of a back, starts against Fiji.

“Justin is a great rugby player and he reads the game like nobody else,” said the Dragons man, who will win his 38th cap at the Millennium Stadium. “It’s great to have him in the team.

“It’s a bit different in that he likes to play a bit wider and is great with ball in hand but he’s no slouch at the breakdown either.”

Wales were famously dumped out of the 2007 World Cup by Fiji and drew 16-16 in 2010, when Faletau was an unused replacement.

It was a happier experience in the following year’s World Cup when he was part of the XV that eased to a 66-0 win but the 24-year-old predicts a tighter tussle this afternoon.

He said: “We all know what to expect against Fiji, they chuck the ball about and are dangerous from anywhere on the field.

“They have so many dangermen but Nemani Nadolo, their 12 from the Crusaders, has been playing well all season.

“We have to play our own game and avoid playing into their hands, while in defence we need a bit more speed off the line than we had against Australia.

“Fiji are a powerful side so we need to get after them in defence to force them into mistakes, then hopefully we can capitalise.”