[Photo: FILE]

The Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s side is banking on improved discipline, sharper restarts and a more settled squad as they look to bounce back with a stronger performance at the Vancouver 7s this weekend.

Head coach Richard Walker says the team has narrowed its preparation to a few key areas following lessons learned from the Singapore and Perth tournaments.

Walker says the coaching staff deliberately focused on a small number of improvements rather than trying to overhaul everything.

“After Singapore and Perth we had a few work-ons, but working with the coaching staff we can’t fix everything, so we focused on four main areas in our preparation.”

He explains that improving one-on-one tackles and tightening their work around the ruck area were among the biggest priorities after conceding too many penalties in recent tournaments.

The team has also revisited its kick-off strategy — an area that was a major strength earlier in the season during the Dubai and Cape Town legs but slipped slightly in Singapore and Perth.

Walker adds that the final focus has been building greater consistency in attack, with the coaching group confident the work done in training will show this weekend.

The Fijiana started the season strongly with a fourth-place finish in Dubai but have since slipped to sixth and seventh in the last two tournaments.

Walker says managing the demands of back-to-back tournaments earlier in the season was one of the challenges the side had to navigate.

He explains that squad changes also played a role, with five new players introduced during the Singapore and Perth legs, including several debutants who needed time to adjust to the intensity of the World Series.

However, heading into Vancouver, the coach believes stability within the squad could make a difference.

Walker says the team has retained the core group that featured in Perth, with the only changes being players who were already part of the squad during the Dubai and Cape Town tournaments.

With no debutants in the lineup this time around, he believes the increased familiarity within the group will help the players execute their game plan more effectively.

The Fijiana will be aiming to turn their improved preparation into results as they look to climb back up the standings this weekend.

The Vancouver 7s kick-starts tomorrow and Fijiana takes on Australia at 9.31am, the USA at 12.57pm, and hosts Canada at 4.46pm.

You can watch the LIVE action of Fiji’s games on FBC TV.

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