Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s squad will need to work on their strength and conditioning in order to better their performance in the World Sevens Series in Sydney on January 26-28.

After a winless performance at the Dubai 7s last month, Coach Iliesa Tanivula is working hard drilling the players at training.

He said preparations had been quite intense as he will be selecting his players based on their fitness.

“We’ve been having an intense training for the past four weeks and the response from the girls had been really good,” Tanivula said.

“One major area that the girls had been working on is the strength and conditioning which I felt was lacking in the side during the Dubai 7s last month.

“I’m also hoping the fitness level of the players will also improve before we take on the field in Sydney.

“Defensively the girls need to be upfront as we are pooled against Russia, Ireland and Canada.  We need to get our defensive skills and shape upright.

“In our extended squad we have currently the same group of girls from the last tournament while there is inclusion of 6 new players who had participated in the 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games in Bahamas.

“However, I hope these girls actually step up and prove themselves but they had been showcasing some very impressive skills and we just need to just assist them in familiarizing with the attack and defense aspects of play.”

He said they will be keeping an eye on the players who will be playing for their respective clubs in the Mana Whey Coral Coast 7s next week.

“We haven’t experienced any major injuries with the extended squad and the girls are aware to maintain their best physicality for the upcoming Coral Coast next weekend before the main Sydney 7s the following week,” he added.

“I am looking forward to naming the squad this week as I am still monitoring the performance of the players.”

Edited by Osea Bola

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