The unprecedented number of yellow cards and citings made only four rounds into the 2015 Skipper Cup has become a serious cause for concern.

Vodafone Flying Fijians head coach John McKee has spoken out over the serious issue of discipline

McKee called on unions to educate themselves and their players with the rules of the game.

“From a coaching perspective, discipline is a very important aspect of the overall game and red and yellow cards can prove to be very costly for the team,”McKee said.

“I believe that it’s important for the players to understand the rules and laws of the game so that they can avoid making infringements.

“It’s also very important for the coaches to know and understand this so that they can teach the players how to identify infringements and avoid them.

“Definitely one aspect of the game that needs work is discipline around the ruck and tackle areas. This are two areas the World Rugby makes certain referees are strict on and because of the lack of knowledge, Fiji is always penalised in this area.

“Players don’t know how to conduct themselves according to laws relating to these two areas and as a result find themselves carded. So it’s very important for the unions to start looking into this.”

Fiji Rugby Union chief executive officer Radrodro Tabualevu said they would be looking further into the issue.

“I think that this is a very good issue concerning the rising cases of indiscipline and it’s good that it’s being brought out into the public so that it can be addressed.”

Ovalau head coach and former national 7s coach Etuate Waqa brought the issue to light in a statement yesterday, revealing a total of 66 yellow cards and four citings or red cards had been issued since the start of the tournament on May 23.

Waqa echoed similar sentiments to McKee.

“I think it’s important for the coaches of the respective teams to prioritise the education of their players in the laws and rules of the game,”Waqa said.

“The lack of knowledge on this is the most probable reason behind the high number of infringements.

“For myself personally, as an educator, the foremost part of my strategy is getting my players in what I call a daily training environment or DTEs. Here they don’t come for fitness or skills. They come to get educate themselves on the rule of the game.

“Last month all my forwards sat for their Level 2 exams and on July 24 the whole team will undergo a strength and conditioning course, which is all part of the DTEs programme, which was introduced by the Fiji Rugby Union two years ago through the High Performance Unit.

“I’ve seen the usefulness of this programme especially for the benefit of the players. We all know that in this day and age of rugby, players need to understand the functional rules of the game and how to conduct themselves.

“So whenever we talk or we train, we learn about the principles of the game and how the rules relate to each aspect of the game. All new skills need to be taught along with the laws that go with it.”

Feedback: eroni.tuinaceva@fijisun.com.fj