‘Fijiana 7s did not achieve goal’

THE Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s did not achieve their objective of making the top four after the Women’s HSBC World Sevens Series in Dubai and Cape Town.

That’s the verdict of Fijiana 7s head coach Saiasi Fuli after the team was placed fifth in Dubai after defeating Ireland 28-12 and seventh in Cape Town after defeating Canada 26-12.

The national side sits in sixth position overall in the series with 20 points behind Ireland 24 points, France 26 points, the United States of America 32 points and joint leaders Australia and New Zealand with 38 points each.

Fuli said he took five new players to Dubai and Cape Town but the ploy did not work as they lost players through injuries in the tournaments. “For me as a coach we did not meet our objective, which is to squeeze into the top four after the first two tournaments,” he said.

“The setback was that we lost a lot of players through injuries.

“There were three players who suffered concussions so we had to play with nine to ten players for the two tournaments.”

Forward Sesenieli Donu injured her knee in the first pool match against Japan in Dubai.

Fuli said Donu would go to New Zealand for surgery.

“I have to be content with that and stay composed and stay aligned with the long-term goal. That is to reach the top four after the tournament in Toulouse at the end of this series,” he said.

“Even though we took five new girls and then lost three key players through injuries, we still managed to stay in fifth position in Dubai and then in seventh place in Cape Town.

“We are sixth overall after two tournaments. There are five more tournaments remaining so it is a long way to go.

“It is a good opportunity for me as well to expose the new girls and rest a few senior players.

“The full squad will be in camp next week. It will be a one week camp.”