Vodafone Fijian 7s head coach Ben Ryan said everything was up to par in preparation for the defence of the USA 7s in Las Vegas today.

Ryan said they have a lot to play for in the Vegas-Vancouver leg of the World Sevens Series.

This is due to the;

n destruction caused by Tropical Cyclone Winston which affected all Fijians;

n  the World Sevens Series getting tougher with added All Blacks and Springboks firepower in the New Zealand and South Africa teams.

Ryan said from Las Vegas yesterday, even though the players have been affected by the cyclone, they are keen to defend Las Vegas 7s and all is on track.

And so is the campaign for the 2016 Rio Olympics in August.

“I imagine Government funding for Olympic funding will be affected by the cyclone and would be in favor of that,”Ryan said.

“People are homeless, schools are destroyed and lives lost. Money should be spent on that not on Rio preparation if there has to be a choice.”

He said players have been financially and emotionally affected but said they would want to make the country proud starting in Las Vegas this weekend.

“The boys were all affected by the cyclone and it does affect things,”he said.

“It’s only natural they were upset about the damage done to the country and their people.

“Financially it’s affected nearly all of them in some way or another as well as emotionally.

“However, the boys want to make the country proud, they always want to do that.”

Team wear black armbands

“We will wear black armbands at the weekend to show our respects and play for all of Fiji.

“Win, lose or draw you will get a team that will play their hearts out in Vegas,” Ryan said.

Meanwhile, the team visited Kay Karl Elementary School after 20 minutes Captain’s Run at Sam Boyd Stadium. Edited by Osea Bola.

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