‘Next big name in Fiji 7s’ headlines new faces in squad for Ignite7

Fiji Rugby have revealed there will be three new faces in the men’s sevens squad at this weekend’s Ignite7 tournament in Tauranga, New Zealand, as the team continues to prepare for the launch of the new HSBC SVNS Series season next month.

Apete Narogo, Alifereti Nainoca and Nacani Boginisoko have been injected into the squad for matches at Blake Park on November 1-2, with Fiji set to test themselves against the All Blacks Sevens and Australia at least twice each.

In a post on social media, Fiji Rugby said the team “is injecting some exciting new talent” into the squad ahead of the fourth edition of Ignite7. While Fiji will be playing in SVNS Series warm-up matches, Ignite7 will see the next generation of New Zealand Sevens stars take the field.

Fiji Sports Council once questioned in the title of a Facebook video if Nainoca is “the next big name in Fiji 7s” after starring at the Nahehevia 7s. Narogo was named the player of the tournament after starring for Ubuntu, which was part of the rising star’s journey to national honours.

Fiji Village reported almost three months ago that Nainoca was noticed after impressing on the wing in club rugby. Then there’s Boginisoko, who captained Suva-based Dominion Brothers at the prestigious Marist 7s tournament earlier this year.

The All Blacks Sevens will take on traditional rivals Fiji in the opening match of the two-day weekend at Ignite7, with that game kicking off at 10:00 am local time. Fiji will round out day one with another two matches, versing Australia twice.

It’s a later start for Fiji’s men side on the second day of play at Mt Maunganui, coming up against New Zealand at 12:58 pm and then Australia at 3:20 pm. Fijiana will also play six matches as they continue to build for the SVNS Series opener in Dubai on November 29-30.

The actual Ignite7 tournament has seen 48 female and 48 male players selected into one of four teams, with New Zealand Rugby picking some of the standout “emerging provincial union talent from across the country.”

Black Ferns and Black Ferns Sevens great Kelly Brazier will coach one of the women’s teams, while former All Blacks Sevens captain DJ Forbes has also taken up a coaching role. Team lists have been confirmed for the women’s and men’s Inferno, Bolt, Surge and Power.

Fiji’s men’s and women’s teams will challenge themselves against Australia and New Zealand in crucial warm-up matches ahead of the Dubai Sevens next month. Fijiana will also verse Japan, who are looking to build on their fifth-place finish last season.

“There is a huge amount of talent across these eight squads and it’s going to be exciting to see how these players perform through the tournament and develop into the future,” New Zealand Rugby High Performance Talent Identification Manager PJ Williams said in a statement.

“Many of these players have experience in the NPC or Farah Palmer Cup, for others it’s a step up after playing at age-grade level, and for some it’s their first foray into our high-performance environment, so there is a real mix.”