Fiji targets England

Photo Sydney Morning Herald/Getty 

BEN Ryan will encounter what he wanted to avoid for a while which is facing his former side England at the Gold Coast 7s tournament in Australia.

The newly-appointed Digicel Fiji 7s coach will guide the national side against England in the Cup quarter-final at 2.20pm today.

Defending champions Fiji finished top in Pool C after beating Canada 20-10 and Portugal 38-0 in its opening two matches before going down to Wales 19-22 in its final pool match last night.

Ryan, who coached England for six years before joining the Fiji 7s team last month, is ready for the task.

"I know them very well and know what they can do. I have a plan for England," he told The Fiji Times last night.

"Sometimes as a group that is growing you need a little kick, a little reminder that losing is not nice.

"We have a lot of work to do and the boys know that. They are very upset after losing (to Wales) but I told them they've got to reset the button now.

"It's inevitable that we will be meeting England. The bottom line is we're at the top of our group and we're in the quarter-finals."

In the opening Cup quarters, New Zealand plays Samoa at 1.58pm followed by Fiji versus England match at 2.20pm.

Australia will take on Kenya at 2.42pm and South Africa will face Wales at 3.04pm.

The Cup final is scheduled for 9.04pm.

Fiji Times