FIJI TIMES – Fiji 7s coach Ben has rated the Vodafone Fiji 7s team’s statistics in the 2014/2015 HSBC World Sevens Series as one of the best in recent years.
According to Ryan, Fiji has played in seven tournaments recording 21 group game wins which no other team had achieved.
He said winning the Hong Kong 7s was the highlight for the players.
“It was a terrific effort from the boys over the three days and I owe a lot also to my management staff who always go unheralded,” Ryan said.
“One of the things everybody told me when I came to Fiji was about consistency. The players need to be consistent.
“We have played seven tournaments and 21 group games have been played, Fiji is the only team to record 21 wins.
“We had an 18-game winning run and in the history of the series Fiji has never had this streak.
“The boys are showing consistency and winning Las Vegas and backing it up with the Hong Kong title is great. What you don’t see is the state of the body of the players after a big tournament.”
“There were 12 small car crashes on the Monday after the Hong Kong 7s.
“And then we took the flight to Tokyo and William (Kwoong) did a wonderful job with Naca (Cawanibuka) to get the players energy back to fight back.”
South Africa leads the series with 129 points and is ahead of Fiji on 125 and New Zealand on 120.
Ryan said it was a three-way race for the title.
“It happens in rugby, you win some and lose some,” he said.
“It was one try a piece against South Africa who are now fighting hard with us for the series along side New Zealand so it is a three way horse race.
“We know that a quarter-final at Glasgow will guarantee direct Olympic entry which is hugely important.
“That is our priority this year and it looks like that we will get there which will be a big achievement.
“We are only four points behind South Africa. In cross over pool in Glasgow we could quite easily be playing South Africa or New Zealand in the quarter-final.
“If we play South Africa then it could be the series decider. We don’t have to worry about the other teams’ results so it is down to us.
“Two good performances in Glasgow and London will give us the chance to win the series after a long time since Waisale Serevi’s team in 2006.
“It is been a long time coming but the chance is there. The boys will earn a well deserved rest for a few days but partying need to be suspended.
“We have four weeks and if we can get it right then we can have a long party after the London 7s.”
The players have been advised to refrain from partying ahead of the next camp.
