Pressure on England against Fiji - John McKee

Fiji coach John McKee hopes his team can take advantage of the pressure on England when they face the Rugby World Cup hosts on Friday.

England will open the World Cup at Twickenham against Fiji, with McKee's men well aware of the challenge facing them.

Fiji have lost all five previous matches against England, including their only their only previous World Cup meeting in 1999 when the English triumphed 45-24, but McKee said his team can "rise to the challenge" in London.

"There will be a lot of pressure on England - their expectations of their performance in the tournament and the expectations of their supporters," he said at a news conference on Thursday.

"For us, we know the massive challenge ahead of us and we can rise to the challenge, I believe.

"With that, there almost comes a little bit less pressure - there is pressure because it's an international game and because it's the opening game of the World Cup, but I think really the pressure is on England and for us, it's everything to gain through our performance."

With only the top two teams in each pool advancing to the World Cup quarter-finals, Fiji face a massive test to progress from Pool A, which also includes Australia and Wales.

That is three of the top five teams in the world but the ninth-ranked Fijians remain optimistic.

"If you look at areas of advantage, the athleticism and the speed and strength of our players is a point of difference from most teams that we play against," McKee said.

"Yes, we have a mountain to climb in terms of the teams we need to overcome. But if we can bring our absolute best game we can challenge these teams."

Fiji will face their three main rivals for a quarter-final berth in their opening three matches - with Australia awaiting them on September 23 in Cardiff - before McKee's side complete their Pool A responsibilities against Uruguay on October 6.