Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s Finish in Top 8
The Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s team completed their campaign at the HSBC Women’s 7s Series in Canada in 8th place despite playing with five new players.
The team played well on Day 1 of the tournament defeating England 24-14, Brazil 47-14 but lost in their last pool match against Commonwealth Gold medalists, New Zealand 12-7 but not before giving them a scare.
Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s Coach, Iliesa Tanivula says that it was a good start winning against England and Brazil and pushing NZ to the wire.
“The girls showed a lot of heart and coming a few days early was a big bonus for the team as it showed in their performance.”
“It was a huge improvement on Day 1 but sickness and injury hitting us after competition on the first day was something out of our control but a lot of credit goes to the girls for the way they just went ahead with their task.”
Tanivula added that the result against New Zealand showed that they had the potential to defeat them but they needed to be more ruthless when it came to decision making on the field.
“We just got to be ruthless and be spot on in our decision making under pressure and having to learn fast how to close out games especially playing top teams like NZ.”
“In preparation for the last HSBC World 7s Women’s Series tournament in Paris, we just need to maintain and improve on our conditioning and team cohesion especially with the younger players putting their hands up for selection.”
Tanivula says that he would like to maintain a core group for the Rugby World Cup 7s, but it all comes down to the injuries which is a factor he cannot control.
“We would like to keep a core group and build on the team cohesion but injuries and form is something out of our control so we just have to deal with it accordingly and move forward.”
The Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s team will take a short break before they march back into camp to prepare for the Paris 7s and Rugby World Cup 7s in San Francisco.