The FA & Co Eastern Saints team held a firm grip over Navakavu to win 29-5 in round seven of the Escott grade in the Suva Rugby Union club matches at Buckhurst Park in Suva yesterday.
Tries were set for the Eastern Saints by Jordan Gucake, Serupepeli Waqalevu, vice-captain Apenisa Belolevu, Laisa Bacau and Rusiate Vodo.
The half-time score stood at 17-0 for the winning team and in total, the Saints made five tries and kicked in two conversions.
Substitutions were abundant in the match, the Saints making eight changes while Navakavu made nine.
Team manager Epeli Sovalevu said there was still a lot of work needed to be done, especially in the manner they executed certain elements of play.
“We have a game structure the boys have been trained in throughout the week and we were hoping that they can do it today (yesterday),” Sovalevu said.
“It was a good run for them, but we still have a lot of work to do, we still have not managed to get it well done.
“We couldn’t do it well, so execution was not that good, but it is something to work on.”
As the competition advances into its next stage, he added the team would focus on refining key areas of focus.
“We still have three more games left, so hopefully we will be able to improve as we go along,” he stated.
Despite the areas pointed out by Sovalevu, he acknowledged the strengths displayed by the team, particularly the forwards.
“Forwards are putting the game together, their mauling is improving, set pieces are improving,” he said.
“We have a lot of young players and they’re proving themselves well, which for us is good.
“We have a good structure and a good pattern, and we’ll just work hard on our training to try and improve on our execution.”
He also thanked the team’s supporters for their turnout yesterday and urged them to continue doing so as the competition moves into another round.
