Tuwai Held Back?
There is no cause for alarm but Vodafone Fijian 7s team powerhouse, Pio Tuwai, did not travel with the team to Hong Kong yesterday because he contracted the red eye disease. He is expected to leave tomorrow when fully recovered from the virus.
Fiji plays Canada first at 12.06am (Fiji time) on Saturday April 9, Korea at 4.24pm and Wales at 8.24pm.
The Vodafone Fijian 7s team suffered another setback when late replacement Pio Tuwai could not travel with the team yesterday because of an eye infection. However, it was confirmed that the lanky forward from Votua, Ba will leave for Hong Kong tomorrow.
“He has conjunctivitis and will surely fly on Monday to join us in Hong Kong,” said team manager Ropate Kauvesi.
“It’s not a setback because at the end of the day you will be travelling as a professional team and we are prepared for any situation that arises.
“We’ve been gelling for over six months now so it’s not about one little thing, it’s only for a few days until Monday he flies over.” Coach Ben Ryan also added that it has been a good week with their focus on the main prize. “Obviously, I had a few boys down with cika where we got seven of them at one point. We are over that and it hasn’t last too long and everyone hasn’t really gotten away with training,” he said.
“Some of the players still got the red eye but they are not contagious anymore and that’s the key point. They were not comfortable and that hasn’t stopped them from doing what we’ve been doing in training.” Fiji play Canada in their opening pool before meeting Wales and Korea respectively. “I’m expecting a very tight game on Friday night against Canada because they had some good results in the last tournament we played in,” he said. “I think Canada will be looking for blood against us. They could cause an upset if we’re not completely on our game. Wales also are a good side, well-coached and I expect a tough first two games and I think it’s going to be difficult.”