Niurua: No Easy teams
Vodafone Fijian 7s team manager Jone Niurua says, no team can be underestimated in the lead-up to the final tournaments of the 2016/17 World Sevens Series.
He said there are lots of things to be taken onboard for the preparation of the Paris and London tournaments.
The Paris Sevens is on May 1314 while the London tournament is on May 20-21.
“The players know and it is very important for us to prepare well for the next tournaments,” Niurua said.
For the Paris Sevens, the Fijians are in Pool D alongside Australia, Samoa and Russia. If they qualify for the Cup quarterfinals, they are to face either Series leaders South Africa or Vancouver Sevens champions Canada.
“You cannot underestimate any team. All the teams are very well prepared and that is why the Singapore tournament was won by an unknown team, like Canada.
“That shows how tough the series is,” Niurua added.
The Fijians are ranked second in the World Sevens Series points table with 132 points behind leaders South Africa (157) and England (130) are on third spot.
Niurua said the players are taking a break before they return to camp on Monday.
“We had a pool of 25 players in the training squad where the head coach will pick from.” Coach Gareth Baber returned to Hong Kong and is scheduled to arrive on Saturday.
Vodafone Fijian 7s utility back Lemeki Tulele was called in as a late replacement to the Singapore Sevens.
The Qeleni, Taveuni, native however featured in the Hong Kong 10s two weeks ago and learned a lot from the exposure. “My aim is to try my best to play for Fiji in the next leg. “I know the competition will be tough but then I will try and give in my level best and see what the results will be like,” he said.
“I will never lose hope. It was a huge lesson for me since it was the first time for me to go through that.”
He was the 13-member of the team and had to wait until a player was injured so he could play.
“Team bonding is very strong and that is something I admire the most from the players. “There are a lot of new things I have learned from this trip and I will work on the things I need to work on and prepare well for the upcoming leg,” Tulele added.