The final phase, time to toil for McKee’s Men

Stage set, squad named, it’s down to the nittygritty now. It’s time to toil hard, shed blood, sweat and tears in gaining that crucial extra yards.

With 33 days to go, it’s time to fine-tune the essentials in our quest to make the perfect execution on the global stage.

We may be ranked in the top 10 but our past achievements would be of secondary importance going into the Rugby World Cup next month.

This is why Fiji Airways Flying Fijians head coach John McKee has set the tone, lay down the marker, setting the benchmark that his special group of players must beat the best, eclipse the rest and create a new dawn for Fiji Rugby.

McKee knows how Fijians love their rugby and he wants to be the man responsible for creating new firsts for the team when he named his 32-member squad on Friday.

And likewise his men must toe the line and be in unison with his vision and simply not making up the numbers.

This would be McKee’s second RWC since he was appointed in 2014 and he knows the Flying Fijians need to achieve better outcomes than in the United Kingdom four years ago.

This is his second chance and he can’t afford to let this one slip again without a better and concerted effort from his men.

McKee stressed there’s no time to waste highlighting everyone to be responsible for the cause. These are the key points:

A responsibility to the nation.

A responsibility to work hard every single day. A responsibility to make things happen rather than hope.

McKee said: “With selection made, players can focus completely on their preparation for RWC and being the best player they can be for the team and for Fiji.

“This is an exciting time for these men and must do something and not let this opportunity slip by. “They must not merely wish for something special to happen. They must put in the hard work and commitment to make it happen.”

Team captain Dominiko Waqaniburotu has proved himself as an able leader.

The Makadru, Matuku, Lau native commands respect from the players since he replaced Akapusi Qera.

The Fijians play Australia in Sapporo on September 21 before they travel to Kamaishi four days later to play Uruguay. They will then face Georgia at the Hanazono Rugby Stadium on October 3 and Wales at Oita Stadium on October 9.

The onus is on the Flying Fijians to make it happen. And die-hard fans will always be there to show support for the cause. We wish them the best..