Fiji Airways Men’s National 7s Coach, Gareth Baber says the inclusion of Jerry Tuwai, Waisea Nacuqu and Livai Ikanikoda has provided him an added depth as Fiji looks to chase down the pace‑setting USA 7s team in the final two tournaments.
Waisea Nacuqu is back in the team after recovering from a collar‑bone fracture sustained in Las Vegas in March and Baber says their mentality will not change, with every game effectively a must win.
Final leg, LET'S GO! 🇫🇯🇫🇯🇫🇯 #London7s #TheFinalEpisode pic.twitter.com/G8zoDg9qGf
— Fiji 7s Team (@Fiji7sTeam) May 20, 2019
Baber also stressed that the level of competition in the HSBC Series now is at that stage that whatever pool you're in, you're pretty much guaranteed to be playing three finals and he is always aware that every team that plays against Fiji will play it as their cup final.
He adds that the team know the challenge ahead of them, starting with Kenya tonight.
A quarter final finish in London will also be enough for Fiji to guarantee a top four finish for the season and qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Meanwhile, Fiji who is aiming to defend their title and top the World 7s Series is in second place with 142 points on the World Sevens series table, USA is in first place 145 while New Zealand is in third place with 130 points and South Africa has 121 points in fourth place.
Fiji will meet Kenya in their first pool match of the London 7s at 9.36 tonight, they will take on France at 12.42am tomorrow and will play their last pool match against Samoa at 3.48am tomorrow.
The Cup quarterfinals will start at 9.58pm tomorrow, Cup semifinals will start at 1.48am Monday and the Cup final will be played at 4.57am Monday.
Barring any upsets, Fiji is likely to meet England or Scotland in the quarter final, they are likely to take on USA or Argentina in the semifinal and New Zealand or South Africa in the final.
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