Fiji Airways Fijiana sevens coach Saiasi Fuli was very wary of the opposition in the pool of death his team is facing against traditional champions New Zealand, the US and England in Pool C this weekend.
“It’s a very tough pool, it’s the pool of death in this Langford tournament,” Fuli said from Langford on Vancouver Island in an FRU media conference.
“We have New Zealand, New Zealand is back, they have been absent for the past four tournaments due to Covid restrictions and the pandemic that affected New Zealand and then they are back,” Fuli said.
“They are the undisputed champions for the past few years and we are pooled with the US who won one of the tournaments in Spain and the entertaining and young English team that played well in both tournaments in Spain.”
The US won gold at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Malaga in Spain and England were bronze medallists at the Seville tournament the week before also in Spain in January.
“Yeah we’re here in Langford, a beautiful city here in Victoria, it’s good that we’re back after the cancellation in the back to back Spain tournaments, it’s quite hard that we had to stay in Fiji but it’s good that we had some rugby,” Fuli said.
“We had six tournaments in Fiji and now we are back in the world 7s arena and ready to play this weekend in the Langford 7s.
“It’s a challenging week for us, we have prepared well doing our homework and doing some research and analysis with our full opposition but it’s good back playing in the international sevens tournament,” Fuli said.
“To have a tough pool it’s very challenging for us.
“It is what it is and we have to focus, prepare well for this Langford tournament.
“I know that there is a lot of talk in regards to our pool but that is rugby.
“To have that competitive nature and quality opposition; it’s good for us it’s good for the tournament and we’re ready and ready to play in that group that has New Zealand, USA and England.”
The three pools format has Australia and Ireland named top seeds of Pool A and Pool B respectively with England as Malaga champions named as the top seed in Pool C.
Pool A has Australia, Canada, Spain and Mexico; while Pool B has Ireland, France, Brazil and Japan.
The Fijiana sevens team plays the USA at 4.30am (FT) on Sunday opening the Langford tournament at Starlight Stadium in Langford outside Victoria, British Columbia.
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As a short story writer, I can’t help but be drawn in by the tension and drama of this tournament. The “pool of death” with traditional champions New Zealand, the US, and England sounds like it will be a thrilling match to watch. It’s exciting to see the Fijiana sevens team back on the international stage after a difficult year with COVID-19 restrictions. The coach’s words of focus and preparation show the determination and resilience of the team, and I can’t wait to see how they perform in this tough competition.
Thank you Sebastian, very encouraging.