NEW Fijiana XV head coach Willie Walker believes the side has the potential to challenge the world’s top teams as he begins building towards the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Walker who has only been in the coaching role for less than a week, said his first match provided an opportunity to assess the players and understand what the team needs to develop.
Despite the heavy loss to South Afreica, Walker said he would not have accepted the role if he did not believe the Fijiana could reach a higher level.
“I wouldn’t have taken the role if I didn’t have that belief,” Walker said.
He said the natural ability of the players and Fiji’s passion for rugby gave him confidence in the program.
Walker, however, stressed that improvement would take time and would require the team to strengthen its basic skills and standards.
“We’ve got a long period of time to build as a group because we’ve got a bigger goal in mind,” he said.
He said exposing young players to international rugby would also be important as the Fijiana continued to develop their depth.
Walker identified conditioning as another area requiring attention, saying the team was not yet at the level of Tier One nations.
He believes improving fitness and skills under pressure could lead to significant progress across the team.
“We’ve got a number of young girls in there, a couple of debutants today that have never been at this level,” Walker said.
“We always need to raise our expectations and standards throughout our team.”
Walker said the Fijiana were moving in the right direction and praised the strong bond within the squad.
The team will now use the lessons from the first match as it prepares for its next encounter against South Africa.
