Three new stars, assistant coach headline Fiji’s changes before Valladolid

The Fiji men’s sevens side is adding a new injection on and off the field, as they look to turn around a disappointing result at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens and get themselves back in the hunt for the HSBC SVNS World Championship title.

After finishing second in the regular season, losing the men’s series in a New York final thriller to South Africa, Fiji endured a disappointing weekend in Hong Kong China.

After topping Pool B over the first two days of action, the side crashed out in the Cup quarterfinals with a 24-17 loss to Argentina – and while they bounced back to defeat Australia 26-10 to finish fifth, it was a notable drop in performance for the side.

As the sevens sides came together to recommence preparations for Valladolid on Wednesday, head coach Osea Kolinisau has brought in a flurry of new faces to turn around form.

Kolinisau will be supported by former sevens captain and playmaker Jerry Tuwai, widely regarded as the most decorated Olympian in Fiji’s history, as an assistant coach.

“Someone of Jerry’s calibre and experience adds a lot more value to the team. I am grateful for his presence,” Kolinisau told the Fiji Sun on Wednesday.

“He is looking after attack, especially the halfbacks as well. I can focus on defence a lot and Jerry can take on attack, especially [with] his experience.”

The injection Tuwai provides also comes as three new players in Fiji Development player Aquino Savenaca, Suva Garmmar product Amena Yanuyanutawa, and Atunaisa Batikado, Police 7s player and the younger brother of 2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist, Asaeli Tuivuaka, join the extended squad.

The injection on both fronts, according to Kolinisau, is to address the side’s key areas of concern in discipline, defence and communication, especially when under fatigue.

“We want to get our numbers right in the breakdown, our decision making, and our discipline, which really cost us in our last games at [the] Hong Kong Sevens,” the head coach explained.

“Learning from the discipline of the red card, you can’t touch the man in the air. It’s not like there is no force. But that’s the rule of rugby. You can never touch a man, and there’s something we’re learning.

“Another area we are focusing on is our coms and our tackle height. We dissect the game and go back to our analysis.

“A lot of our tackles were chest high, we were bouncing off tackles.”

Kolinisau is hoping the injection of experience in the coaching ranks and pressure from the extended squad will drive up standards in the team.

Fiji will need to win in Spain to have any hope of winning the championship finals, and with the third round of the World Championship set to be played a week after in Bordeaux, France, this preparation now is the last roll of the dice.

“A lot of fighting for spots and competition is something we want to create,” Kolinisau said.

“Make sure we’re competing and the intensity [is there].”

Fiji Men will kick off their Valladolid campaign in Pool C, and will have a tough assignment as they face host nation Spain, France and the USA.

The Fiji Women’s side will play in Pool B, taking on Australia, the USA and SVNS 3 champions South Africa.