The Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s team will rely on their natural attacking flair as they prepare for the season finale of the 2024/2025 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Los Angeles from May 4-5.
Head coach Richard Walker said the team doesn’t need to be taught how to attack.
“They’re the best when the ball turns over. They know how to score, my job is to get the defensive side right and help them express themselves,” he said.
Walker, who took over after the Vancouver 7s where Fijiana reached the final, said the team’s goal was to first secure a top eight finish in Hong Kong and Singapore to remain in the Series next season.
“We achieved that. Now our focus is on LA, it’s a clean slate and anyone can win. We believe we can,” he said.
Walker said their build up at the Chula Vista elite athlete training centre in California has been strong.
The team arrived a week early to adjust to the time zone and train alongside top sides like the New Zealand men, USA and Canada women’s team.
“This is a winner-takes-all tournament. We’ve been working hard on the defensive side, especially to deal with edge threats,” he said.
“We’ve made progress against France, the margin got smaller in Singapore, and we beat the USA in Hong Kong. So, we’re closing the gaps.”
Walker added the mood in camp is bright.
The Fijiana side takes on Australia at 6.05am on Sunday in their opening match at the Dignity Health Sports Park, followed by France at 9.29am.
Their last pool match will be at 1.02pm on the Sunday against USA.
