Fiji are to begin the defense of their World Sevens title in Dubai today with eyes on a repeat victory next year as well as giving their nation a first Olympic medal.
Rugby Sevens is to make its Olympics debut in Rio de Janeiro in August where the inventive, muscular and fleet-footed Fiji will be amongst the favorites for gold.
“It’s really an exciting season when you have the Olympics in the background,” said Fiji captain Osea Kolinisau, conscious of the fact that his nation has never won a medal at the Olympics.
Photo: AFP
Last season, Fiji, coached by Englishman Ben Ryan, finished 10 points ahead of South Africa, winning four rounds of the global series and making sure of their place in the Olympics in the process.
In Dubai, the first of 10 rounds that are to finish in London in May, Fiji have been drawn in Pool A along with Argentina, Canada and Japan.
“When you are defending champions, there is always pressure,” 30-year-old Kolinisau told www.worldrugby.org. “Everybody tries to knock you off your pedestal. Training has been hard in the build up to Dubai as we know it’s always hard to defend a title.”
“We have beefed up a lot of our training and most players have put on a bit of weight,” he said. “We know that a lot of teams are gunning for us and for the series.”
Fiji certainly raised the standards in their title-winning season — they scored more tries on average than any other team at 4.5 per match, or one for every 44 seconds of possession.
They also managed to win the 2014-2015 crown without losing a single match in pool play.
Pool B in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is made up of defending Dubai champions South Africa, Scotland, Samoa and Russia.
New Zealand are in Pool C alongside the US, France and Portugal, while England, Wales, Australia and Kenya are to fight out Pool D.
The women’s Sevens tournament also takes place at the weekend, in which New Zealand are the defending champions.
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