Englishman Ben Ryan was appointed as the Fiji sevens coach in 2013. It took him three years to shape a team that would go on to win the first Olympic gold medal.

The first thing Ryan did was get players contracted on salaries compatible with decent-paying employment. Then he laid down the rules for the players and what was expected of them from the contract.

This included player behaviour, diet, alcohol consumption and attitude towards their employment. Then he added more players to form an extended squad and worked on a winning formula leading to Olympic glory.

Why are we talking about an Englishman and a national sevens team from a neighbouring country? This coach found the formula for developing a successful team and showed that a successful team does not only need a good coach. It needs the right players who are contracted and a parent body ready to back the coach and players.

The Manu Samoa sevens team is currently non-existent. Lakapi Samoa does not have a coach and the first sevens tournament that could be the first stepping stone to returning to the World Sevens Series is over a month away. The Oceania Sevens will be held in the beginning of November.

Samoa needs to either win the championship or finish as the best team outside of the teams who are already in the Sevens Series. This will allow Samoa to join the Challenger Series. Similar to the World Sevens Series, the Challenger Series has a certain number of tournaments where teams collect points. The top four teams at the end of the season, get a chance to play in a promotion-relegation tournament as we saw in Madrid.

But to reach there, a coach needs to be appointed soon. Delays in appointing a new coach will delay the selection of a good team and it will also provide less time to train the players. This time around Lakapi Samoa needs to contract the players.

The coach’s key performance indicators (KPI) should include qualification to the Challenger Series and getting back into the circuit with the big boys. There needs to be a fairer selection of players too. It seemed that the last team showed shades of nepotism when it came to player selection.

The lack of direction, commitment, training and unfair selection ended with the results we saw in the last season as well. The national sevens team has been allowed to have a fresh start. A new game plan is needed.

There is also a need for a strength and conditioning coach specifically for the sevens game. Unlike the 15s game, sevens has evolved requiring more stamina and speed.  As a small island state rugby union, Lakapi Samoa could seek the aid of World Rugby to do this.

To achieve this, the board of Lakapi Samoa needs to be committed. There needs to be a financial commitment towards contracting players. This can be done either through approaching the government or incorporating player wages into sponsorship deals.

There are local coaches with the ability to produce these results as we have seen with the performances of clubs from Savaii and the rural areas. Similarly, talent lies in remote areas and the journey to seek them out should have started already.

If Ben Ryan can do that with Fiji, surely there is a coach out there who can do the same with Samoa. We know we have the players with the skills, the only thing needed is a mentor who can help raise the phoenix from the ashes.

Samoa was a feared name when it came to rugby sevens. Even the best in the world trembled when they faced Manu Samoa in sevens tournaments. We need to get back there. There are no two ways how this can be achieved.

We need a coach who will provide the winning formula, we need players who are skilled and will be committed to the cause and above everything, we need a committed Lakapi Samoa.

Have a great weekend Samoa.