(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Ryan and Co look to follow up Gold Coast glory with Rugby Sevens triumph this weekend
Fiji players celebrate after winning the Dubai Rugby Sevens title on November 30 2013. — AFP file
Dubai — Coach Ben Ryan is targeting back-to-back tournament victories for the first time in Fijian rugby history at the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens here this weekend. Ryan’s men head into the fray looking to cement their place at the top of the standings with a second success in as many events having won the opening leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series at the Gold Coast in October.
Reigning Dubai Sevens champions Fiji are no strangers to triumphing in the emirate either on the back of their exploits last year and if they were to do so again it would represent another landmark moment for Ryan and Co. “Fiji have never won two tournaments in a row in the history of international Sevens at World Series level which is ridiculous” the former England Sevens coach said. “Winning at the Gold Coast and this weekend is not the natural back-to-back because the purist form would be to win here and then back it up next weekend in South Africa.
“But it’s a big goal for the boys to set new records that have never previously existed. Their first-ever win in Dubai was last year and now they want to make sure that they win back-to-back and they’ll be doing everything they can to do that this weekend.” The dominant way Fiji won in Australia has naturally led to more expectation and pressure on Ryan and his playing personnel to reproduce that formidable form on a regular basis. However the Englishman is only too aware that some other fancied nations were off the pace by their own high standards first time up and they’re unlikely to be so again now. “The expectations have gone very high in Fiji now” Ryan admitted. “They’re obviously very aware of the top-four finish requirement for Olympic qualification and they feel pretty chipper about that at the moment.
“Our Gold Coast victory was a pretty impressive win in many ways with us scoring more points than any team has done since 2006 in the World Series and we conceded fewer points than we have done for a very long time. They’re now thinking that we’re going to do that in every tournament. But there were some below-par performances at the Gold Coast by teams that didn’t get their preparations right in that first tournament. They’ll have rectified that come this weekend and we’re going to have some pretty titanic tussles. But in saying that I’ve got a team that I think can stand up.
“We’ve rightly got a target on our backs but that’s something we’re going to embrace and we’ll certainly be throwing a few things back at everyone else.”alexkhaleejtimes.com
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