Fijiana gauging strength in Townsville
The Fijiana 7s team aims to just go out there and consistently perform in the Pacific Aust Sports Oceania 7s competition which starts in Townsville on Thursday.
And playing Australia and New Zealand is never an easy task but Fiji relished the opportunity to go up against the world’s top two teams in three days.
The last eight is exactly where they reached five years ago at the Rio Olympics, and five members in this Oceania squad are looking to become two-time Olympians.
Luisa Tisolo leads the team in points scored, so it came as no surprise that she became the first Fijian to score a try at the Olympic Games.
Fellow Olympian Rusila Nagasau, Raijieli Daveua, Viniana Riwai and Lavenia Tinai have all played more than 70 World Series matches, with Nagasau breaking 150. All have also scored more than 150 points, with Tinai joining Tisolo in nearing the 300 total.
The shortened 2019/20 season was their best under Coach Saiasi Fuli.
Starting off with a runner-up finish at the Oceania Sevens, they made the quarterfinals in four of five World Series legs and even finished fifth in Sydney.
Their leading try scorer that season was Ana Maria Naimasi, who crossed the line 12 times in 19 matches.
Naimasi is one of 11 players who competed during that season and have been selected for this tournament.
Though only 21-years-old and two seasons into her career, Tokasa Seniyasi’s potential is rising.
Seniyasi’s promise has even earned her the team’s captaincy, leading women almost 10 years her senior.
“It’s a very good time for us to go and play in a competition and play against the top two teams in the world who have set the bench mark and are the best in the business,” coach Fuli said.
“This is the only way we can measure our strength, team performance and individual players whom we can select later for the Olympic Games.”