Improving discipline and skill sets is a focus for the Flying Fijians this week as they prepare for a physical encounter against Pacific rivals Samoa in Apia this weekend.
And assistant coach Brad Harris knows too well that Manu Samoa will not be a team to take for granted given its return to the World Rugby 10th ranking after its outstanding 24-22 Pacific Nations Cup performance against Japan recently.
The Fiji Water-sponsored national side has been through a gruelling training session under the scorching Nadi heat these past two days before heading to Samoa tomorrow.
“We had a really good start,” coach Harris remarked on their 36-20 win over Tonga last Saturday.
“We started the game with two tries which was really positive. And then after that a little bit of fatigue settled in some of our boys so that’s certainly a focus point for us this week.”
Harris, who has been at the helm of the Fiji 7s and the Fijian Drua sides, says he has also been working with the boys this week based on the line-out setup and the options that were presented in the tough encounter against Tonga last Saturday.
“The pictures that were painted were what we expected but we just got to be a little bit better on our skill sets,” he said.
“But as I touched on earlier, you know, for a Fijian team to start the game with two tries is a fantastic start.
“So we’ve got some areas that we need to improve on like discipline, the penalties which led to Tonga getting some entries into our half.”
Overall, Harris says the national side and its coaching staff are happy at where they are so far and hope to match the physicality of a strong Samoa side during this weekend’s showdown.
After registering the victory against Tonga, the Flying Fijians head to Samoa for another Pacific rivalry battle at Apia Park on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Flying Fijians will leave for Apia on Thursday night.
The side returns home on Monday.
