The Telecom Fijiana team is acclimatising in Sao Paulo, Brazil since they arrived for the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series on Sunday.

Facing Australia, Canada and Ireland in Pool A, Women’s Rugby coaching director Chris Cracknell is focussing on the specifics to get the players ready for Sunday.

“The team has had a heavy block in Fiji, so this week they will taper in terms of training load but be focusing on specifics for the weekend,” Cracknell said.

“We’re focusing on our group games, Australia, Canada and then Ireland.

“We are yet to play Australia this year but we know Ireland and Canada will be looking for revenge after we beat them in the first round in Dubai.”

Fiji thrashed Canada and Ireland 24-10 and 27-10 respectively.

Due to the outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil, Cracknell said teams arrivals would be delayed which may affect their warm up games.

“We may play a warm up game this week. A lot of teams are choosing to come in late because of the Zika virus which will then leave us with limited time for such games,” he said.

“We came out early for the girls to acclimatize. Weather-wise it is cooler than Fiji but the main issue with the trip will be jet-lag and the girls getting used to a different time zones quickly.

“Hopefully we should be over this by Wednesday or Thursday depending on the individuals. But all in all the girls are all well and settled in completing two training sessions and looking forward to the weekend.”

Nicholas Debut For Canada

Despite losing out on the Plate final against New Zealand in Dubai, Canada will be looking to go through their pool rounds unbeaten after having lost their only pool game against Fiji.

Coach John Tait has included series debutant Breanne Nicholas who was named Rugby Canada’s Young Female Player of the Year.

Nicholas said her experience with travelling with Canada’s Maple Leafs has given her a boost in playing in the world of 7s rugby.

“I’m really excited to be making my series debut for Canada this weekend,” Nicholas said.

“I’m looking forward to travelling with the team for my first World Series tour. The Maple Leafs tournaments have definitely helped quite a bit as it has got me involved in sevens and in playing different countries and travelling around the world.”

Oz blood Taleena, Mahalia

Meanwhile, Australia has included two new debutants in the squad as they will face Fiji for the first time in the series.

Taleena Simon and Mahalia Murphy are both products of Australia’s Indigenous rugby programme.

Coach Tim Walsh said their main aim now was to continuously improve their performance.

“Dubai was an excellent start to the season and an important contribution to our seeding as we look ahead to the Rio Olympics,” Walsh said.

“The challenge for us is to continually improve our performance while also building depth in the programme.

“As a group, we are always looking for challenges that put us out of our comfort zone and there’s no doubt Sao Paulo will provide a huge challenge for everyone.”