Former England captain and World Rugby 7s analyst Rob Vickerman has found that the Fiji Airways Men’s National 7s team can still win a game with the little possession they have.
For a common notion in any rugby sevens game, possession is king.
After the Hamilton 7s last month, Vickerman said in a World Rugby video analysis yesterday that Fiji only had the ball for an average possession of 176 seconds per game in the Hamilton 7s.
Fiji only had 138 seconds of possession in the final against South Africa.
In his analysis, the former England captain also found that Fiji scored a try in every 1.6 rucks they make or after six passes.
Coach Gareth Baber has stated that they have been working hard on their breakdowns which is crucial against top teams. He is also working on ball possession.
Meanwhile, the future looks bright for 7s forward Paula Dranisinukula as he becomes a crucial game breaker for the national side in the World Sevens Series.
Dranisinukula’s performance at the last leg of the series tells us that the 28-year-old from Navuniivi, Ra is the next big thing for Fiji Rugby.
His work rate against South Africa at the Hamilton 7s final was phenomenal as he made four clean breaks against a much experienced Blitzbokz side that has Kyle Brown, Kwagga Smith and Tim Agaba.
Baber believes that more game time for his players will only get combinations and match fitness in order as they build on towards the Commonwealth Games next month and the Sevens World Cup in July.
Fiji is currently in third place in the overall series standings with 62 points.
South Africa is leading with 77 points, New Zealand is in second place with 69 points while Australia is in fourth place with 60 points.
Fiji will play Russia in their first pool match of the Las Vegas 7s at 12.06pm tomorrow and we take on France at 3.07pm, Fiji then plays their final pool match against Kenya at 8.36am Sunday.
The Cup quarters start at 1.26pm this Sunday, the Cup semis will be held at 9.12am next Monday while the Cup final will kick off at 12.30pm Monday.
