All eyes on ‘The General’
ALL eyes will be on Olympics gold medalist playmaker Vatemo Ravouvou who makes his comeback to the 7s rugby scene after booking a spot in the Fiji Airways 7s Men’s side for the HSBC Hong Kong 7s tournament.
Known among rugby gurus as “The General”, Ravouvou brings with him a wealth of experience having featured in the national 7s side which won the country’s first Olympics
gold medal in Rio back in 2016.
“It’s good to be back, and I am thankful for this opportunity to be able to wear the national jumper again,” the 33-year-old said.
Ravouvou featured for the DXC Barbarians side at the recent Fiji Bitter Marist 7s tournament where they managed to reach the finals against DXC Army Green.
Coming into the squad, Ravouvou says his goal is to impart his knowledge to the younger players and help bring back the side to their winning ways.
“Like coach said, for us to come back to our winning ways and that is something we want to bring back.
“To reintroduce to the players our winning culture and keep it like that until the Olympics starts.”
Ravouvou said losing 18 tournaments in a row was a huge disappointment and he was looking to give his best for the side when he featured at the Hong Kong 7s tournament.
Fiji Airways 7s head coach Osea Kolinisau said Ravouvou had proven himself worthy of a spot in the national side, and he was eager to see what the veteran had to offer at Hong Kong.
“He proved his worth at the Marist 7s, and I have been impressed with him even from our two weeks in training,” Kolinisau said.
“The boys in the team look up to team and he has been helping the younger players, talking to them and sharing his experience with them and that’s exactly what I want to see.”