THE performance of the Ravuka Sharks at last week’s McDonald’s Coral Coast Fiji 7s prompted coach Osea Kolinisau to direct the attention of the Fiji Airways Fiji men’s 7s team towards them.
He commended the Sharks’ level of defence, particularly in their pool and cup quarter-final match against the New Zealand Development 7s team.
“The defence of Ravuka (Sharks) like their enthusiasm in defence, they bounced back quickly and it showed against New Zealand; defence won them that game,” Kolinisau shared.
“And I told the boys ‘You watch the Ravuka boys.’ The energy in defence was exciting for me and to see them execute the way they defend.”
Part of the Sharks’ brilliance in the competition could be attributed to the presence of former Fiji 7s player Etonia Naba as their head coach, which Kolinisau highlighted.
“And it all goes back to their coach, Etonia Naba, the work he’s doing and I really like the shape of defence they were showing and that’s why they were in the front.
“The defence was really good to me during the three days (of the Coral Coast 7s).”
The Sharks had an impressive run during the tournament winning all pool games, a 22-7 win against NZ in their first match, 10-5 over Y-Is Kava Vacalea after and a 43-0 thrashing of Bula Bay 7s in their final pool match.
In the men’s cup quarter-final, they beat NZ 24-7 and the McDonald’s Mike Friday Select 7s team 14-12 in the cup semi-final.
Their campaign at the tournament ended with a cup final appearance against the Yaro Chiefs, where they lost 12-28.
Meanwhile, the Fiji Babas, the shadow national 7s team also coached by Kolinisau, finished as bowl winners at the Coral Coast 7s.
