The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series’ Paris and London 7s closed an exciting season in the annual tournament.
The France and England legs lived up to expectation with their glamour and fame, coupled with the trademarks of these two great nations.
The two great nations are homes to some Fijians, most brought here by sports namely rugby union and rugby league, and life in the military.
My family is fortunate to be part of the fortunes of life offered by these two super powers.
We are based at Badlippspringe, Germany, and we travelled for hours to Paris on the weekend to support our Vodafone sponsored 7s gladiators.
The success coach Ben Ryan instilled in the team had made every Fijian proud — all of us in Great Britain, across the world, and especially at home in Fiji.
We were dressed in blue, the colour of our noble banner blue. Who can forget the Fiji flag. The Fijian blue colours covered one part of the stadium, and a great atmosphere that many will talk about in years — Fijians, friends and fans alike.
The Paris 7s brought us Fijians here together at our corner of the grandstand, even the great Waisale Serevi, the 7s king sat among us.
And there was no missing the sound of Fijian songs and cheers as they echoed throughout the stadium. And our bucket of kava — mixed at the stadium — Fijian style.
The atmosphere brought back my former journalist days — watching, analysing and absorbing everything that happened on the field and predicting what Fiji would do to beat everyone.
Instead of broadcasting as in my former days at home up Waimanu Rd, my new life here is in the military with the British Army.
Paris 7s was a world-class event with thousands of fans and supporters from all different participating nations congregating into Stade de Jean Bouin Stadium (home of Stade Francais Rugby).
We travelled across to Paris from Badlippspringe, Germany for seven hours including a 30-minute break for fuel and food.
This did not dampen our spirits as we know we are going to watch the best rugby 7s team in the world — our home team Fiji. Even though Fiji came out second to Samoa, there were a lot of positive outcomes produced during the three-day event.
The Fiji 7s team were unstoppable from day one. They were like possessed animals hunting for their prey and going for the kill every time they enter the field.
It was mesmerising to watch them with the inclusion of overseas-based players.
To me, Josh Tuisova was the man of the tournament. His ferocious defence and attack was second to none. He has proved his selection into the team having joined the team two days before it started.
Nakarawa was just phenomenal with his off-loading skills. All players stood up to the challenge. They did Fiji proud, and they were all stars. They were the centre of attraction.
They rightly deserve the king of 7s rugby title. They were all over the park giving oppositions hard times. The Olympics is three months away and I am confident when we reach that game day, this Fiji team will be ready for war.
And we are lucky to have one of the best sportsmen in the world — Jarryd Hayne. Give him time, Ryan will make him ready for the Olympics. The fans and Fijian supporters who travelled from all over Europe including some of our former national reps plying their trade in France and across the channel turned up in numbers to cheer our team.
Losing to Samoa in the final did not really matter to us because we knew South Africa and New Zealand got knocked out too. It placed Fiji in a better position to become world champions again.
In London last weekend, we again travelled. The atmosphere was great.
The crowd loved Fiji. There were cheers when we attack, there were cheers when we break the defence and the biggest cheers came when we play our traditional style of play using the back flips and the scissors. Most teams are following us, but I salute Ben Ryan for blending his experience with the casual style of Fijian play to make every Fijian world champions again.
We have started planning to cheer the team again here next year and good luck all to people at home. Ni sa moce. I leave you with Ben Ryan’s favourite phrases to the team: Biuta, Barasi, Polo. Go Fiji Go.
Kusitino Leawere and family.
