HEAD coach Osea Kolinisau’s brigade of Fiji Airways Fiji men’s sevens gladiators began their Cape Town 7s campaign this weekend with a call to attention – they meet the hosts South Africa in their first pool match.
Scheduled for this Saturday at 10.44pm, it is expected to be a hotly contested clash for both sides.
The hosts plan to start the defence of their cup title in Cape Town on a high note while Fiji will take their first steps towards advancing further into the pool stages with the aim of the semi-finals.
Reaching that stage will mean finishing top of the pool, and in the company of South Africa, New Zealand and Great Britain, all eyes will be fixated closely on what the Jeremaia Matana-captained side will do to make it happen.
Fiji last lifted the Cape Town 7s trophy in the 2018/19 season of the HSBC SVNS Series, and the opportunity to repeat the feat once more has remained elusive seven years on.
In the last two seasons of the series, Fiji has only garnered success there as plate winners.
Beginning their campaign in Cape Town also means starting off strong with an upward progression of success following their bronze medal win at the Dubai 7s last week.
Kolinisau has acknowledged how vital the results will be in the continuation of the series, as it reaches its second stop in a series with eight of them.
“It’s a long series and we wanted to stay in touch with the leaders, so we needed the points,” Kolinisau said after their third-place finish.
“It’s good to see the boys come out and fight for the game like their life depended on it.”
After their first pool match, they face Great Britain on Sunday at 1.38am, followed by New Zealand at 5.19am.
