Sport: Fiji's discipline key to defending Sevens title - Coach

Fiji Sevens Rugby Coach Gareth Baber says with discipline and defence his team can return to the form which saw it win the 2019 World Series.

Two weeks out from the New Zealand Sevens tournament in Hamilton, Fiji were sixth on the series table after disappointing finishes in Dubai and Cape Town

Baber conceded his team hadn't been where they have needed to be in terms of mindset and the tempo of the game which had placed pressure on themselves.

"When you end up defending for long periods of time it gets very very physically tiring and you look for short cuts and certainly we've been looking for ways that we can alleviate that and not have that as part of our game," he said.

"There's some drills that we do in training which we've had to revisit and look at and get the boys to be more disciplined in a more natural way of trying to stop the ball moving from player to player.. it comes down to discipline and defense."

Fiji have also received the most yellow cards in the World Series so far and Baber admitted that was another issue to address.

"There is a way that we play here in Fiji, which is on the edge all the time [and] all around... we have to ensure that players are coached in the direction that they understand that there is a risk to what they're doing all the time."

HSBC referee Tevita Rokovereni was working with the team to help them better understand the rules and regulations of the game at an international level.

Injury concerns eased

Gareth Baber said he was also confident any injury concerns around two of his stars were now over.

Baber is hopeful Isoa Tabu and Jerry Tuwai would be available for the Hamilton-based tournament, which Fiji won last year.

"We were doing a contact session and he [Tabu] got his ankle trapped in a bit of a twist. There was a bit of concern originally but he's come through, he's back training again so [give him] a couple of days and he'll be back where he needs to be."

Baber says Tuwai was sent to do an MRI on his ankle, but it was just a precaution and he is back training too.

"He trained this morning with us and went up for a scan and really, it's a long season. I want to make sure that all the players are getting the best care they can and if they're done for the right reasons then we're not putting anybody under due stress."

Baber's team will open the New Zealand tournament with pool matches against Samoa, Australia and Argentina.

A change of format means the four pool winners will go straight into the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, the Fiji women's side is pooled with hosts New Zealand, England and an invitational Chinese side.