Mudu aims for Sydney lift
Vasikali Mudu lifts Avete Daveta of the Fiji Airways Fijian 7s team during training in Sydney on January 24, 2018. The Sydney 7s kicks off tomorrow. Fiji play Samoa at 8.28pm tomorrow, Russia at 5.09pm on Saturday and New Zealand at 8.42pm.
Baber and his men only won one tournament last year and that was the Hong Kong Sevens.
The Fiji Airways Fijian 7s team needs to strike first in the third tournament of the World Sevens Series in Sydney this weekend.
Coach Gareth Baber has selected a strong team who had done the hard yards at training and must deliver on game day.
The Fijians should better their performance after a disappointing semi-final loss in Dubai and a fifth place finish in Cape Town. Always crowd favourites in Sydney they will get plenty of support as they seek to win their first tournament.
Baber and his men only won one tournament last year and that was the Hong Kong Sevens. Currently third on the points standings, Sydney should be the right destination for the Fijians to make their mark to boost their confidence.
The Blitzboks won the Sydney Sevens last year, beating England in the final, and the South Africans are keen to defend their trophy and close the gap on New Zealand in the current series standings.
Fiji Airways Fijiana
The Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s team needs to turn their game around after a winless outing in Dubai.
The Iliesa Tanivula-coached side need a complete performance and return to the top four after Sydney tournament.
Australian women’s captain Sharni Williams told World Rugby: “We had a great start to the series in Dubai but then we headed into the holiday break. Now we are back on deck and we have to ensure we do the small things right to ensure more success. While it is good mentally to switch off when you can, such as Christmas, we now have to apply ourselves and we have worked on our conditioning and skills for Sydney.”
For both the men and women there are also Rugby World Cup Sevens seedings points up for grabs. Seedings points will be earned in tournaments leading up to RWC Sevens in San Francisco in July and will crucially determine the draw for both tournaments.