The Samoa sevens team say the time for excuses are over.
The Manu finished a disappointing 13th at the Las Vegas tournament over the weekend, despite a stunning victory over eventual champions Fiji in their opening match.
Their cause wasn't helped by a stomach bug that swept through the team prior to the tournament, affecting six players, while captain Falemiga Selesele and Tila Mealoi were concussed on day one.
Samoa men's sevens coach Damian McGrath. Photo: RNZI / Vinnie Wylie
Head coach Damian McGrath said anything that could go wrong has gone wrong of late but ultimately they are responsible for their own performances.
"Illness and injuries apart I think we still suffer from inconsistency - for every good thing we do we seem to open a door and let teams back in at times and that's something that, as a coaching staff, we have to try and make better. It's no good us scoring great tries and doing good things and then doing some really basic errors which allow teams back into it. It is a young team but we can't keep using excuses - at some stage we need to straighten all these things out and I'm hoping that bit by bit that's going to happen."
Damian McGrath said both Falemiga Selesele and Tila Mealoi passed their concussion tests and should be fit to play in Vancouver this weekend.
Fiji and Samoa have been drawn in the same pool for the third straight tournament, alongside Kenya and Portugal.
Samoa won the Shield title at the 2016 Las Vegas Sevens. Photo: World Rugby
