Time waits for no man so, naturally, Fijian fans this weekend will hope the transition from Waisale to William, master to apprentice, will be a smooth one. In his third year in Hong Kong, Ryder will wield the brush that could paint another Fijian masterpiece.

The 38-year-old Serevi has been mostly responsible for that in the past, being at the centre of five of Fiji's nine Cup wins in Hong Kong, two World Cup triumphs in 1997 and 2005 here, and winning the player-of-the-tournament award on five occasions. But the old master says Ryder is now ready to step out of his shadow.

'William has a big role to play in the team. He is a very good player and is gaining confidence with every tournament,' warns Serevi. 'He is getting better and better. I think we will see the best of him this year. He will be the player to watch out for this weekend.'

Ryder, 24, is more circumspect, well aware he is still in the presence of a legend, someone who is widely regarded as the best sevens player in the world.

'I am still learning a lot from Serevi. I need more skills from him to develop my talent. Hopefully, when he hangs up his boots I will play like him. But he will still be Serevi and I will still be William,' says Ryder.

A handful to the opposition with his Serevi-like goose-steps and elusive running, Ryder burst on to the scene two seasons ago. He caught the eye at the World Cup in Hong Kong when, coming on as a sub against Japan, he scored with his first touch of the ball. Many players have scored like this, mostly being on hand to complete a task well-done, but few would have had the daring to think of the opponents' try-line while in their own in-goal area.

The end-to-end effort, which left Japanese players clutching at a shadow, was perhaps the beginning of a new legend. Only time will tell.

Serevi encourages Ryder to take the bit between his teeth and to go for it with his magical ball skills.

As a coach, he knows Ryder has the ability to be unpredictable and thus give his team an advantage over the rest.

'He is doing what he wants to do on the field, so we have given him the licence to do whatever he wants. As long as we can retain the ball, this is okay,' says Serevi.

'It's good for him and it's good for the team - but maybe not so good for the other teams.'

Despite being a relative newcomer to the sevens scene, Ryder is fast climbing up the ladder of all-time points scorers in the IRB Sevens, having scored 550 points to lie 13th. Leading the way is England's Ben Gollings on 1,613, while Serevi is second with 1,267.

The more significant statistic is that this season, in the past four legs, Ryder is leading the way with 214 points, including the most tries - 22.

No wonder Serevi says his apprentice's habit might be a tad unsettling to the others.

'My first impulse when I get the ball is to try to break down the defence and score a lot of tries. I want to help the boys win the Hong Kong Sevens,' says Ryder.

'The series has been tough this year. Lots of teams have been playing very well. But we are well prepared because Hong Kong is the very best place for rugby sevens. We have been training together for two months.'

It is amazing to think Fiji are in the midst of a Hong Kong Sevens drought when you consider they have been the most successful team ever to play here - as well as their nine Cup wins and two World Cup titles they have been runners-up on nine occasions.

The Pacific islanders will be depending on a little bit of Ryder magic to rub off as they bid to get back to winning ways.

'We haven't won the Hong Kong Sevens for a long time. A lot of people are talking about it. They are saying it is time for Fiji to win again, and I'm hoping this will be the year,' says Ryder.

If that happens, then rest assured that people will be talking about how Ryder showed Fiji the winning path again.