Fijians now have a sound platform
Fiji, who upset reigning Sevens World Series champions New Zealand 26-12 in the Final of the Gold Coast tournament at the weekend, believe they have laid a sound platform for global success.
The Fijians, who lost to New Zealand 5-28 in last Friday’s pool game, advanced to the Final after defeating South Africa 24-7 in the semifinals, after leading 19-0 at half-time.
But it was their won in the Final that they feel set them up for the remainder of the season.
It was the Flying Fijians’ first tournament win in over a year. It saw the Fijians, 2006/07 winners of the IRB World Series, take an early in the standings in the 2011/12 version of the global circuit – which now heads to Dubai next week and Port Elizabeth a week later.
The Fijians travel to Dubai with 22 points, three clear of New Zealand and five ahead of third-placed South Africa.
“It is a big thing for the boys. We need a platform to start it off and this is a stepping stone to something,” Fiji coach Etuate Waqa said.
“It is very important to us, we have spoken about it, we want to go back to being number one in the world and if we can start it off like this it sets a platform that we can build on.
“We knew it would be physical, we just asked the boys to be composed.”
Fijian captain Osea Kolinisau echoed similar sentiments.
“It is always good to get off to a winning start in the first leg of the Series, especially as all the teams are gunning for the top dog tag, and I think we have it but we have to work really hard because we have two more rounds now,” Kolinisau said.
“We lost to them in the pool stages, so it was really special. To meet them back in the final and win it, it is totally sweet.
“It is really important for us, and our goal is always to win the World Series and this is our first step towards it.”
Gordon Tietjens, the NZ coach, said there were “plenty of positives” to take, despite the loss.
“It is our first tournament and we did enough I thought to win this,” Tietjens said, adding: “But that is Sevens, we might have played well against Fiji in the pool but the team can turn around and do exactly the same to you.
“Lots to play for going to Dubai, we know we are good enough. The boys will be kicking themselves and we had set some good standards. To lose it we are disappointed but you have to take your hats off to Fiji. They were certainly the better team on the night.”
