‘Onus is on the players’
FORMER Flying Fijian and former Fiji 7s player Sireli Bobo says to win a HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, the onus is on the players.
“As a former player my advice is ‘this your time to prove yourself’,” he said.
“It comes down on how you prepare yourself mentally.
“Spiritually, there is someone in camp, who is helping the players in terms of preparing their faith and in terms of physically, the coach is doing his job.
“Everything depend on the players.
“The coach and management team have done their part and it comes down to how the players perform on the field.
“Everybody is looking forward for them to win and where they left off, they should work on their defence.”
He added that Fiji is one of the teams that have been consistent in their performance compared with other teams.
“Some of them reach the finals and then they really drop down but for us Fijians we keep climbing with our performance.
“Looking back at the other tournaments before the Dubai 7s, Fiji has been a powerhouse pushing their way through to always reach the final.
“The players maybe new to play in the international series but we’re not new in playing 7s rugby. We do it every time and we keep coming up with different style of playing.
“Year in and year out we play in local tournaments and people see the outcome of their performance when they reach that national level and going abroad to participate.”
THE Black Ferns Sevens will be without a host of Rugby World Cup winners for this weekend’s World Series event in Dubai, with Tyla Nathan-Wong returning from concussion to captain the side.
Sarah Hirini, Portia Woodman, Stacey Fluhler, Ruby Tui, Theresa Fitzpatrick are all unavailable, they’re taking a rest after helping guide New Zealand to glory in the 15s World Cup.
Nathan-Wong, who captained the side the last time they were in Dubai in 2019, suffered a head injury while making her Black Ferns 15s debut against Australia earlier this year, ruling her out of contention for both the Sevens and 15s World Cups.
She leads a Black Ferns Sevens side with three uncapped players in their ranks.
Auckland’s Tysha Ikenasio and Waikato’s Kelsey Teneti and Manaia Nuku will run out for their Black Ferns Sevens debut, while Canterbury youngster Jorja Miller will play in her first World Series tournament after debuting at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in September.
“We’ve got young girls who haven’t experienced the World Series before so the key is not putting any pressure on them, its about going out there, having fun, playing rugby and that will be when we are at our best,” said Nathan-Wong.
Also in Pool B this weekend, the Black Ferns Sevens will come up against Great Britain, Brazil and France.
The Black Ferns Sevens are the defending Olympic gold medallists.
“Its straight into it for us - no mucking around! We know Great Britain have had a long pre-season bringing those three countries together so that will be a big challenge for us first up. But we love that, it will be a good test to see where we are as a squad.
The All Blacks Sevens will be looking to bounce back after a ninth place finish in their season opener in Hong Kong last month, while Dubai is the first hit out for the Black Ferns Sevens as both teams work towards Olympic qualification.
In the World Sevens Series, which runs through to May, the top four teams in both the men’s and women’s competitions will automatically for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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