Smith: Fijians not playing as a team

The Fiji Times - Saturday, April 05, 2008 11:09 PM

THE Fiji sevens team will need to show more confidence and play as a unit if it is to reap the rewards at the Adelaide Sevens today.

These were the comments by veteran International Rugby Board Sevens World Series commentator Nigel Starmer-Smith who pin-pointed weaknesses in the Fijian armoury.

Fiji has played in the finals at Dubai and George tournament, managed quarter-final appearances at Wellington and San Diego and last week was humbled in the Hong Kong semi-final 34-0 by New Zealand.

Smith has vast knowledge of all teams on the circuit and believes the Fijian players lack the killer instinct which made them world beaters previously.
Fiji managed to beat England 31-12, France 33-12 and Kenya 29-14 yesterday to qualify for the quarter-finals in Adelaide against Australia.

"If Fiji is to make an impact there must be confidence in the players,” Smith told Times Sport from Adelaide.

“This is lacking and it is obviously due to the lack of confidence among players, the team is not getting the desired results.”

He pointed out this was the reason, New Zealand had dominated the series so far because the Kiwis had got their basics right.

“They have confidence and play as a collective unit,” he said.

“Fiji didn’t look like a settled team in Hong Kong last week and must start playing as a team and not rely too much on individual brilliance.”

Fiji brought the likes of William Ryder, Nasoni Roko, Mosese Volavola and Marika Vunibaka to strengthen the side.

The players didn’t impress and perform to expectations and Smith said there were a number of reasons why this happened.

“Sevens is a very different game to fifteens and these players need time to transform back to the short version,” Smith said.

“The defence and attack patterns are different and so are the players around them. They are brilliant and wonderful players but need time to settle back into sevens.”

Winning the ball from kick offs has been a major problem for Fiji in the recent tournaments and the side was punished last weekend by NZ star Victor Vito who won consecutive restarts.

Smith said this was where Fiji needed a strong man upfront and with the inclusion of the any one of the likes of Semisi Naevo or Etonia Naba would make a difference.

“One more player of that caliber in the forwards will make a difference and that is where Fiji is lacking,” he said.

He said while Vunibaka was an asset, time was catching up with the Vione native.

He pointed out that Fiji was the last team to have beaten Tietjens men at the Adelaide semi-final last year.

“Knowing what the Fijians are capable of, you can never know, they might just be the ones who could bring an end to New Zealand’s run,” he said.