Stakes are high for the Fiji Airways Fiji men’s 7s team in Hong Kong this weekend as they aim for a strong finish with everything on the line.
Head coach Osea Kolinisau says their push to finish on top in Hong Kong is driven by the need to avoid relegation to SVNS 2 and the deep sentimental value the tournament holds for Fijians.
“I think it’s really important; especially being a championship but especially being a three-leg championship and the bottom four teams, they get relegated to SVNS 2,” Kolinisau emphasised.
The Hong Kong leg of the HSBC SVNS for the 2025/26 season is the first Championship event, where the eight teams from the series will take part in, and competition in one leg determines qualification for the next Championship stops in Valladolid, Spain next month and Bordeaux, France in June.
With every ounce of effort set to be unleashed when matches kick off, Kolinisau has stressed that their Hong Kong campaign is geared toward a strong start and a victorious finish.
“We want to start well in the Championship, especially in Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong is special to us Fijians, and I know we’ve been working with the players especially with the way we finished the series.”
Fiji finished second on the series standings with 104 points, behind South Africa with 106 and ahead of Australia with 82.
With the onus on them to finish strongly at So Kon Po, Kolinisau said the players have been inspired by their time in Hong Kong, reflecting on how they’ve come a long way — from watching sevens greats on television to now stepping onto the same revered stage themselves.
“It’s one thing to play in Hong Kong, it’s a different thing when you win in Hong Kong as a Fijian player,” he said.
“We have to do the work and make sure we do our systems right when the game comes.”
Tomorrow, Fiji faces Germany in their first pool match at 5.11pm, Great Britain at 8.21pm and on Saturday, Japan at 8.44pm.
Fiji last won in Hong Kong in 2019.
