Vodafone Fijian Sevens head coach Ben Ryan is going to join the Flying Fijians camp during their Rugby World Cup campaign. This was confirmed yesterday by Vodafone Flying Fijians head

by justine mannan, suva

Ben Ryan.

Vodafone Fijian Sevens head coach Ben Ryan is going to join the Flying Fijians camp during their Rugby World Cup campaign.

This was confirmed yesterday by Vodafone Flying Fijians head coach John McKee who said that Ryan was going to ‘provide an extra pair of eyes’ on the team’s progress in their RWC campaign.

“Ben Ryan asked me about coming into camp with us and he is more than welcome. He will be here for a couple of weeks,” McKee said.

“With Ben’s experience it’s always great to have someone a little bit from the outside looking in. He might be able to point out a couple of things that we haven’t thought of.

“I’m not a 100 per cent sure whether he will be here for our game against England but he will be here within the last two weeks of September.”

From their 47-18 win over Canada early yesterday morning, McKee is confident that they would cause a few upsets in the RWC.

With just 10 days to go, McKee is certain that not only would they be giving 100 per cent but also a fact that they could create upsets.

“We know what a good side England is and we need to be at our absolute best to topple them in our opening game but we are going to that game with the belief that we can do well,” the no-nonsense coach said.

“It’s a big task, it’s a big challenge, the great thing about sports and the great thing about the players that we have got in our squad is that challenges bring out the best in people. I believe with the team we have got and the preparation we have had, we are going to cause some upsets in this competition.

“This pool is not all about our game against England. This pool for us is about all the four games and there is going to be a lot of twists and turns.

“Teams are going to win and teams are going to lose, so it could be very tight at the end. We want to get out of the pool stage, that’s what we want to do.

“We know England is a very good strong side, they really know how to control a game and we’ve got areas to work on from today’s (yesterday’s) game.

“We need to play with a bit more patience at times and work to control the field position. We have learned a couple of lessons from today (yesterday) and now we start focusing on the England game.”

Halfback Nikola Matawalu stood out in Fiji’s game against Canada scoring two tries along with winger Waisea Nayacalevu while Metuisela Talebula added the fifth try; winger Nemani Nadolo was flawless in his kicking grabbing 22 points.

Fiji were full of surprises showing solidity in their set pieces, they shoved the Canadians off their own scrum and their lineout, which is often a weak point, was solid and quick.

“We have been together over 18 months now.

“We have been working and focusing in and around the set play,” McKee said.

“To be successful at international level you need a strong scrum and lineout and you can’t hide from that so we have put a lot of effort into our development focusing on those areas.

“To play the game, you need some organisation and structure and so we work to create better opportunities, we know that we have got great attacking plays, that you need to put yourself in the right part of the field and manipulate the defence to create opportunities.”

Fiji will now focus on their first game against England, starting with their training with Georgia on Wednesday. Sessions will continue at the Army Barracks in Aldershot before moving to their team base on Thursday at Oatlands Park, Weybridge where they will be training at the London Irish Amateur Rugby Club. Fiji play England in the RWC opener on September 19 at 7am (Fiji time) Twickenham, England.

Feedback: justine.mannan@fijisun.com.fj