Dubai: Fijian sevens legend Waisale Serevi says Ben Ryan has made a “brave choice” in leaving England to manage the Fiji sevens team ahead of the two countries’ clash at the Emirates Dubai Rugby Sevens on Friday.
Ryan’s Fiji finished fifth at the first of nine HSBC Sevens World Series events in the Gold Coast Sevens in Australia last month, beating Kenya 36-0 in the plate final.
They now come into the second round in Dubai in need of vast improvement under their new coach, something former fly-half Serevi, 45, says will be a big challenge.
Ryan, who is contracted up until the 2016 Olympics, has also dropped fans-favourite Ilai Tinai for Dubai on disciplinary grounds, something he hopes won’t come back to haunt him.
“I congratulate him for lifting his hands and going to Fiji,” said Serevi, who is the fourth highest Sevens World Series point scorer of all time with 1,310 points. “Fiji hates losing and once they have lost a tournament they chase the coach away. I salute him for his bravery.
“For him to have the belief to step into Fiji when sevens is down at the moment, I really salute him for doing that. Fijian coaches that have done the job are going nowhere.
“The Fijian Rugby Union believes Ben is the right choice and there is nothing else we can do but support him and the players.”
As the longest-serving England sevens coach, Ryan won five cup titles on the World Series: two in Dubai, New Zealand and one in London between 2007 and 2013. He also led them to a second place at the Rugby Sevens World Cup over the summer.
What will Ryan bring to Fiji?
Serevi replied: “Discipline. Two things Fijian players lack is discipline and attitude. Ben has already left out Ilai Tinai — one of the best sevens players in Fiji — for disciplinary reasons. That’s what he brings discipline and professionalism. It will be a challenge for him but I wish him well.”
When asked the same question about what he brought to Fiji, Ryan said: “Conditioning, nutrition, psychology — all the things you do in modern sport haven’t really surfaced in Fiji. If I can add that bit by bit and get a ten per cent increase in performance over two years, that will probably be good enough to win a gold medal.”
