The Fiji 7s men’s team needs to pay attention to small things as it counts and lack of preparation was the downfall of the Fiji Airways Fiji 7s men’s team at the Sydney 7s yesterday, says Police head coach Sale Tubuna .
The dream of defending the title was crushed when they tumbled out in the semi-final against South Africa 31-12.
Tubuna, who has been one of the top coaches in Fiji said it went back to the preparation.
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail,” he said.
In the first half, the players were over-reliance as they made poor decisions.
There was no communication and silly mistakes such as missed tackles and lost possession.
Mental toughness was lacking especially going up to a crucial match that caused a lot of unnecessary decisions and individual play by the boys. Tubuna said the decision made by the referees is solemnly the last call.
“Referees are the sole judge whether right or wrong, we cannot pick one or two things out.
“But the players’ mental prep and focus should be very good.
“It shows at the start with a scrum and we lost it. “We need to pay attention to small things.”
Coach Ben Gollings had earlier said the players had put on a big shift.
He said the win against Great Britain was a good game giving them a competitive edge as they have been getting better.
“For the players, we have been building consistency, a fantastic start, we applied that pressure and get it on.
He spoke highly to the supporters and thanked the Fijian fans for coming out in numbers and cheering for the boys.
