FIJI Airways Fijian 7s head coach Osea Kolinisau has emphasised the importance of starting strong and staying focused as the defending champion heading into the Dubai Sevens this weekend.
The men’s and Fijiana 7s women’s teams departed early last week, allowing them time to acclimatise before the HSBC SVNS Series kicks off.
“Starting off the tournament strong is one of our aims. As defending champions we all know what the task is ahead, and we are looking forward for it,” said Kolinisau.
The 2016 Rio Olympic gold medallist acknowledges the new format of the tournament, with eight teams competing and the top two advancing directly to the semi-finals on the second day.
He understands the challenges that lie ahead, particularly with tough opponents like Argentina, France, and South Africa in their pool.
“In this format, you can’t run away from anything. Every game is a quarter-final now. You’ve got to aim for top two to make it to the semi-final.
“We can’t drop a game in this format. Every game we must play and make sure we come up on top. Argentina are the champions in the series. We’re second to them. We know they’re going to come prepared.”
With the focus on ball possession and maintaining control, Kolinisau stresses the importance of keeping possession for extended periods to break down opposing defences.
“Few things we are working with the boys, is especially on our kick-off and attacks as last year we won the ball, but we got blown away in the ruck. Something we trying to improve from last year is to keep the ball.”
Fiji’s first pool match is against Argentina at 9.10pm on Saturday, followed by South Africa at 12.16am Sunday and France at 4.12am on Sunday.
The men’s Cup semi-finals kick off at 10.06pm Sunday while the Cup final is at 4.11am next Monday.
