John McKee says Fijians need to lift their performance to compete with the best in 2018.

The Fiji Airways Flying Fijians head coach revealed discipline is the biggest hurdle during the June and November internationals and Fiji cannot afford to do this if they are to win big Test matches

“We have talented rugby players but we still need to work on some of the fundamental elements of our game, “McKee said.

“Test matches can come down to very tight contests and doing the basics well under test match pressure can be the difference between winning and losing. We need to get our on field discipline on track and reduce our penalty count.

“We will not win big Test matches consistently with penalty count up to over 13 per game. This must change.”

McKee is happy with the depth in the squad and it’s only proper players compete for Test spots.

“I want to see some of our upcoming younger players working hard and putting pressure on some of our more experienced players.

“We need to work on getting our first five-eighths and hookers’ quality game time across the Fijian Warriors and the Australian National Rugby Championship programme so they are ready for Test match rugby and put pressure on the current test squad members.”

McKee also shared on the highlights of 2017.

“Winning against Italy and Scotland at home and away against Tonga and Samoa were our 2017 highlights. It is very important for us to win against Tier One as we build towards RWC 2019 and to maintain our status as the Pacific’s No. 1 team.

“Across 2018 we need to build on gains we made in 2017. A win against Tier One nation   in Fiji and very narrow points gaps against Italy and Ireland were good results but we need to be better than that.

“There will be a focus on contact with players (especially overseas based) between assemblies to help ensure we make gains in 2018 with our eyes on RWC 2019. We can only do so much with short assemblies in June and November. It is the work players do across the whole year that will make them better Test match players for Fiji. This is the challenge for us as a coaching staff and for the players to show us that they are worthy of selection.”

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

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