Here is your Fiji rugby sevens update: & it’s good news. There will be Fiji rugby sevens in the new year. It will take the form of a new Super Sevens Series scheduled for this weekend.
Good news for any fans of 7s although, organizers will surely be observant of both Covid-19 as well as the ability of teams to travel to the various venues; starting with Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka.
The first leg of an introduced Super Sevens Series, Fiji Rugby chief executive officer John O’Connor added that “this will be an exciting tournament that will showcase the abundance of talent that we have in the country”. Talent that has for too long sat idle since the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Series was put on ice.
Fiji rugby sevens update: new Super Sevens Series scheduled
Every Fiji rugby sevens fan will smile hearing this news, as it will provide the kickstart that men’s and women’s players require. Many who returned to the South Seas islands have had very little rugby since the middle of 2020 – in terms of officially endorsed tournaments. Each one will have kept a ball in their hand over time yet, little arranged weekends have been all but unheard of.
As the Coral Coast Sevens tournament and others like it have been cancelled due to the pandemic, creating the Super Sevens Series is a godsend.
Wanting to have a great assembly of competition in men’s and women’s formats, O’Connor also confirmed receiving several more interests from other Clubs but that Fiji Rugby can only accommodate a maximum of 16 men’s teams. The men’s teams have been divided into the following four Pools –
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POOL A: Tabadamu | Police Whites | BLK Stallions | Eastern Saints
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POOL B: Police Blues | Raiwasa Taveuni | Fire | Wadigi Salvo
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POOL C: FDS Barbarians | Ratu Filise | Warden | Yamacia
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POOL D: Uluinakau | Army | Dominion Brothers | Nawaka
Four teams have also been confirmed in the Women’s Competition. Mt Masada, Mt Camel, Striders, and Seahawks.
“It will also give a timely opportunity to our Fijiana 7s side to challenge themselves against some of the top women’s club in the country,” Fijiana coach Saiasi Fuli said. ” We will field 2 teams for the series and I’m very thankful for the great initiative by Fiji Rugby.”
The women will play round-robin matches (three each) with the top two sides to face off in the final. The other two teams will fight for 3rd and 4th place, respectively.
To ensure members of the national squads play as much footy as possible, O’Connor emphasized “Players that are part of the Fiji Men’s extended squad will feature for their own clubs in this first leg of the Super 7s Series while the members of the Fijiana 7s will form two teams and play in their round-robin pool games,” O’Connor added.
Fiji Rugby Union tournament similar to HSBC World 7s Series
Desperate to gain some quality competition for his troops, men’s head coach Gareth Baber urged that “We have some great grass-roots tournaments around the country and we have played in some of them but ultimately we need to be little bit selfish this time as we are focusing on preparing the players who can reach the Olympic team and be the best quality they can come July.”
His focus on preparation was supported by Fiji boss, John O’Connor. “We need to replicate an environment similar to the HSBC Series where the Top 16 men’s club teams and the top female teams compete against each other so that the ‘best players’ stand out. Competing against the top players in their respective club teams also allows the national coaches to see our national players perform against other top 7s players in Fiji; thus helping our 7s team prepare well for the Olympics.”
“The FRU has been working closely with the participating teams in regard to the Terms of Participation and the Rules and Regulations, to ensure that the tournament is run smoothly as the implementation is based on the HSBC World 7s Series.”
The hope is that these weekends will go far to assisting the groups in being match fit, before the final decision by the International Olympic Committee, to confirm the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will proceed. Only then, can the Fiji men and women have any more ‘dreams of gold medals’.
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Super Sevens Series – Round One: January 22-23, Lawaqa Park, Sigatoka
“Main photo credit”
Embed from Getty Images
