DISCIPLINE and execution will be critical for the Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s side as they prepare for the Hong Kong Sevens, which also serves as the World Championship this weekend.
Head coach Richie Walker highlighted discipline as a major area of focus, especially in high-pressure matches where small errors can prove costly.
“Discipline is really, really huge for us,” the coach said.
“We have reviewed all our penalties from previous tournaments like Vancouver and New York. I am OK with 50-50 calls where the referee must decide, but the ones that are clearly on us — those are the areas we need to improve on.”
The side has taken initiatives to address this, even bringing in a referee during training sessions to analyse and correct recurring mistakes.
“We brought in a referee who went over all our penalties and showed us how we can fix them and be better in those situations,” Walker added.
With the fast-paced nature of sevens rugby, maintaining composure remains a key challenge for the players.
“As Fijians, we can get a bit anxious because we want the ball so much. Sometimes that leads to us going off our structure or getting too high in contact. That is why discipline will be a big focus, even in our game-day warm-ups.”
On execution, Walker emphasised a direct and effective approach in attack.
“We know the quickest way to the try line is going forward. If we can get our big runners carrying strongly and create space for our finishers out wide, then our execution will fall into place.”
The Fijiana 7s side will be aiming to combine discipline with clinical execution as they take on the world’s best in Hong Kong this week.
