GERT Smal believes the FIJI Water Flying Fijians have the talent to become a powerful force in world rugby, but their lineout and rolling-maul defence must improve before they face world number three France on November 8.
The 2007 Rugby World Cup-winning South African assistant coach has reunited with head coach Jake White as Fiji’s set-piece coach, joining the team during preparations for their 34-28 victory over Japan.
The match exposed weaknesses that Smal must now address, with Fiji losing six of 15 lineouts and conceding two tries from rolling mauls.
Japan also dominated the lineout in their Pacific Nations Cup final, winning 13 of 15 throws compared with Fiji’s five from eight.
Smal said the opportunity to work with Fiji was exciting, having experienced first-hand the threat posed by Fijian players when South Africa defeated them in the 2007 World Cup quarter-final.
Since joining the team, Smal has had only six training sessions with the players before the Japan test, but he was encouraged by their response.
“It’s just early days. It was a lot of new things for them. They took it on board and worked hard behind the scenes. I’m really impressed with their work ethic in getting things right,” he said.
The immediate challenge is to develop greater accuracy at the lineout and improve Fiji’s ability to defend rolling mauls, two areas France will look to exploit.
France’s recent performances underline the threat.
They won 14 of 15 lineouts against Japan in July and 11 of 12 against Australia, demonstrating the efficiency of their set piece against leading opposition.
For Fiji, the task will be to disrupt that accuracy while maintaining the defensive organisation being introduced by assistant coach David Ellis.
Ellis has emphasised structure and discipline, with Fiji conceding just three penalties against Japan after giving away 16 in their Pacific Nations Cup final defeat.
