Why We lost? McKee Explains

Fiji Airways Flying Fijians head coach John McKee said they need to be more disciplined and cohesive in executing their game plans during pressure situations. This followed their dismal performance against Italy where they lost 19-10 in Catania, Sicily on Sunday.

“Individually we had some good performances but collectively we did not put Italy under enough pressure,” McKee said. “Scrums were very good as was defence but we need to be more disciplined to reduce our penalty count.”

He said their players were not able to put Italy in any kind of pressure throughout the game and the same time conceded costly penalties that they efficiently capitalised on.

McKee also clarified that the pressure of playing Italy on their home ground, or Fiji playing away from home had nothing to do with the outcome of the game.

“It was a close match in Suva and Italy was always going to be a difficult opponent on their home game but I don’t feel the “home game” was a major factor. It was more about our game and inability to put Italy under sustained pressure.”

The Flying Fijians will travel to Dublin, Ireland to face a very impressive Irish side that demolished a shaky South African side 38-3 over the weekend.

“The ruck area post tackle will be a big contest against Ireland. We will work on speed to support the ball carrier and accuracy in dealing with any opposition threats,” he said. Fiji will play Ireland on Sunday morning (Fijian time) at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.