Louisa Wall: Question or two linger after the sevens final

Nisa bula vinaka! Kei te pai Fiji. You were dominant in the final of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong, and your experience and speed certainly shone through in the end.

The New Zealand team were young and inexperienced by comparison and the rookies just could not compete against the stalwarts. In the past this youth may have worked to our advantage but the Fijians thrived on the pressure and truly deserved their win.

The quality of rugby in the finals was excellent. We were fortunate to sneak through against the Aussies in the semis and the Fijians were fiercely challenged by the Argentinians in the quarters and the English in their semi.

A nation in which sevens is the number one passion and a cause for celebration and pride, deserves to win such a world crown and even if we were at full strength, I am not sure if it would have mattered. The Serevi legend endures and congratulations should also go to their coach, New Zealander Wayne Pivac. And ka pai the Fiji Government, which declared Thursday a public holiday to celebrate the team's victory. Vinaka vakalevu!

For New Zealand, however, there's a lesson to be learned about making players available for such world events and this must be investigated by the NZRFU.

We should never take for granted a victory in any world championship and we must always field our best team.

This virtue of playing to our potential, context or opposition aside, was highlighted last week as the Silver Ferns trounced England in the second netball test. The first test against the English was rather lacklustre but these were the first competitive matches of the season and the performance by the Silver Ferns was poor.

However, the girls came out and beat the English by 44 in the second game, although they won the third test by only 15.

I liked the comments by Irene van Dyk after the second test when she said that the Silver Ferns were world champions and must play like world champions at all times, irrelevant of the opposition. It is very much about measuring up to your expectations of performance. And the expectations of the team.

The key to continuous success is motivation.

The Australian cricketers, the Crusaders, Brumbies, New England Patriots, Ian Thorpe, Manchester United - they all have it. But what is it and how do we capture it?

Is it competition within a strong bench, a reputation for excellence, new talent or wanting to play for yourself?

There are a rare few who can win consistently over time and failure is part of sport.

It was good to see the Super 12 and Sanzar judiciary punish Justin Harrison (after he stood himself down last weekend) for his racial slur against Cats winger Chumani Booi in South Africa a few weeks ago.

Racism brings the game into disrepute and should not be tolerated. Soccer has experienced racism for a long time and late last year there was racist chanting during a match between Spain and England.

To combat this, Arsenal and France striker superstar Thierry Henry has committed himself to the fight.

It is shocking that we need to eliminate racism from sport, but in the battle against it a red card and a suitable post-match disciplinary process are absolutely required.

The players are professionals, the field is their workplace, rugby belongs to the public and racial offenders should be disciplined via a red card, suspension and fines.

And, yes, there is an element of truth in the saying that sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you.

I would not put up with it. Those who perpetuate such disrespect bring the game into disrepute should be appropriately punished.

* Louisa Wall is a former New Zealand rugby and netball representative