Chris Cusiter Scotland scrum-half

It seems as though the Pacific Islanders have not brought their weather with them this week, seeing as it has been raining incessantly for about 48 hours in Scotland.

Thank goodness for indoor training facilities of Heriot-Watt University and Hearts FC out at Riccarton, where we trained on Wednesday afternoon.

It was a pleasure to be running around on the state-of-the-art synthetic surface while listening to the rain bouncing off the roof.

A real morale-lifter - perfect conditions, dry ball, great surface and, as a result, a high-quality session.

Rupeni Caucaunibuca is in the Islanders' starting line-up

Granted, the conditions on Saturday may be slightly different. But, as the weather gets colder and wetter and as I've never pretended to be tough anyway, I'll take all the indoor sessions I can get.

Training this week has again gone well, though everyone's fears were confirmed early in the week when it was announced that Jason White is out of the autumn series and possibly for the Six Nations too.

It is ironic that Jason, who is renowned for putting in some of the biggest tackles in international rugby and who constantly sacrifices his body for the team, got injured by catching his studs in the turf and twisting his knee awkwardly.

Hopefully, he will be back fit and on top form as soon as possible.

Chris Paterson has been named as the stand-in captain and I know from past experience that he will do a fine job.

He has the knack of always making the right decisions on the pitch and his goal-kicking record is up there with the very best in the world.

Off the pitch, it is as if the more training he does, the more energy he has - and I don't think I have ever seen him sit still for more than five minutes.

Luckily, Simon Webster has the same condition and the two of them are able to keep each other amused and out of trouble.

The Pacific Islanders pose a very different threat to Romania and we have all been studying the video from their match against Wales last week.

My analysis has deduced the following - they are all very big, very tough and very fast.

I'm particularly looking forward to playing against my old team-mate, Semo Sititi, who left the Borders at the end of last season for Japan and who has been greatly missed since.

Japan-based Semo Sititi was previously with Border Reivers

Semo, who christened his son Wallace, was very much at home in the Scottish Borders.

There is also the considerable threat from Rupeni Caucaunibuca, probably the most naturally talented winger the world has seen.

The difficulty in playing against the Pacific Islanders is that they have no IRB ranking and, as of this week, they only have one match in their recent history.

They have players who are capable of making a fool of anyone one-on-one and I think that will be a critical part of the game.

Our defence is always a major focus for us and Alan Tait has done a fantastic job over the past year and a half, but I think Saturday's match will be one of our biggest tests so far.

We are all expecting a very physical match, but we are a team growing in confidence and are determined to make another step forward on Saturday.

They are drawing from three nations, all full of talent, and are very proud to be representing the Islands while we have a great opportunity to extend our home record.