Bolaca returns
FIJI Airways men’s 7s head coach Ben Gollings says having playmaker Napolioni Bolaca back in the squad has lifted the morale of the team.
The 27-year-old joins the national 7s side after eight months of recovery from a knee injury and will captain the side to the HSBC Vancouver 7s this weekend.
“Having Bolaca back in the team is great because he brings with him a lot of experience and he has a voice that the players respect and listen to,” Gollings said.
“He has just come back from injury, but he has been looking good on the field and I can’t wait to see how he performs this weekend.”
He said selecting Bolaca as captain was an easy decision because of the influence he had on most of the players.
“He’s a leader and he has a lot of influence on this team.”
Meanwhile, Gollings said the side had been conducting team runs over the past few days to acclimatise themselves to the weather.
“So, we spent the first few days of the week acclimatising to the weather, which is very different to our weather back home.
“Players have been having a few team runs throughout the week out in the cold to get used to the weather and they have been doing well so far and they are excited for what’s ahead.”
Gollings identified individual play as an area the side needed to work on since the Perth 7s earlier this month.
“Areas we need to work on is playing together as a team. There were times during the Perth 7s that we were playing as individuals and not as a team, especially in attack.
“And in our pool games, we play Argentina so that will be an exciting match.
“Our target is to take out all our pool games, where we will then build and stay consistent from there if we want to come out as tournament winners.”