MENTAL resilience will be the decisive factor in elevating the performance of the Fiji Airways Fiji men’s sevens team in Singapore and Perth for the second leg of the HSBC SVNS series.
The squad selected for this stage boasts a wealth of talented and experienced rugby sevens campaigners, all capable of igniting any rugby pitch or HSBC series leg.
However, against top-level competition in high-pressure situations, head coach Osea Kolinisau believes it is mental resilience that will separate champions from the merely talented.
To emphasise this, Kolinisau consistently creates high-pressure scenarios during training sessions to accustom the players to these mentally demanding conditions.
“Yeah, it’s something we’re trying to push the boys, especially in training, getting them tired, fatigued, and then pushing them to do the hard stuff, especially defending when they’re really tired after having a run. See how the player can manage when he’s really tired,” Kolinisau explained.
He added that any player, especially a talented one, can perform well without pressure, but it is those with the mental strength to handle high-pressure moments whose names are carved into championships.
“As I said, a lot of people can do a lot of things when you’re not pressured, when you’re not tired, you have a lot of space to think. But it’s different when you’re on the field, you’re tired, and you’re looking for air, think about what we’re doing next, and there’s something we want to mimic to the boys, and make sure they get mental toughness when they’re really tired, and see if they can function or they can focus when we’re really tired,” he said.
The mental pressure is already mounting, with high expectations for another successful title defence in Singapore.
Fiji is the defending champion having defeated Kenya 21-12 last year to claim the title. The competition is scheduled to take place from January 31 to February 1.
