Club out to restore lost sevens glory
Petroleum firm fuels tourney
TOURNAMENT organisers for the 47th Fiji Bitter Marist 7s received a boost from a petroleum company which has been a major sponsor of the local 7s event for more than a decade.
Pacific Energy handed over $10,000 as part of their sponsorship to the tournament where more than 70 teams will be participating this year.
Pacific Energy CEO Xavier Baronet said their decision to support such an event for a long period was mainly based on the development of grassroots rugby in the country.
“We have been doing this for the past few years and we are happy to be coming on board again this year,” he said.
Baronet said Pacific Energy had always been a huge supporter of grassroots development and was excited about the three-day tournament.
“We will have teams travelling from all over the country to participate in this tournament and we are very excited to see what goes down.”
The tournament, which starts tomorrow, will feature a men’s, women’s and under 18-21 competition, where a display of raw skills and power will be expected at its very best.
Marist Rugby Club president Lawrence Tikaram thanked Pacific Energy for the constant show of support towards the tournament over the years.
“Just a huge vinaka vakalevu to one of our major sponsors, thank you for always supporting the tournament for a very long time.”
Tikaram says the tournament – one of the biggest local 7s events in the country – will see teams travelling from outer islands to compete.
“The competition just keeps getting better over the years and this year we have the highest number of newcomers than ever.”
AS teams prepare to battle at the 47th Fiji Bitter Marist 7s this weekend, the Qauia Icon Reeves side will be out to restore lost glory as a powerhouse of the tournament.
Formerly known as Red Rock Qauia, the club is one of the oldest teams in the Marist 7s tournament.
Team manager Eroni Kaconisawana, who was also a former player of the Qauia Rugby Club, says they will be featuring young and new players in one of the biggest 7s tournaments in the country.
“We have players aged 18 to 24, and we are excited about the competition as we believe we have a lot of talent to showcase,” he said.
“The boys have been training for the past three months with all the same goal in mind of restoring greatness to our name.”
The team had just arrived back into Lami from a two-week camp in the highlands of Namosi.
“Since our coach lives in Namosi Village, we thought it was a good idea to get the boys there.
“We also wanted to get them away from all sorts of distractions like television, mobile phones, internet, and the bustling noise of Suva.”
Kaconisawana believes that through focus, determination and consistency, things are looking bright for the boys from Lami.
“Just want to thank all the wives and families of these boys for letting them go up into the highlands for their training.
“We also call out to our supporters to come out in numbers to the HFC Bank Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to watch your boys play.”
He thanked their sponsor Icon Reeves for believing in the team.
The side is in Pool E and faces DXC Barbarians, Viria Blues and Ratu Filise.