Vodafone Fijian 7s captain Osea Kolinisau and forward Semi Kunatani scooped most of the awards at the Hong Kong 7s tournament. According to a report in the South China Morning Post, coach Ben Ryan has paid tribute to his captain after he was named the Best and Fairest Player of the 2016 Hong Kong 7s.

Also sharing the limelight was Kunatani who not only received the Player of the Final Award but also topped the performance tracker to be named the DHL Impact Player in Hong Kong.

“I thank the Almighty for giving me the strength and talent to play at this level,” the soft spoken Navosa native said. According to the performance tracker, Kunatani made 10 tackles, 7 breaks, 22 carries and 11 offloads to score a total of 50 points.

DREAM TEAM

Livewire utility back Kolinisau was named into the Hong Kong 7s Dream Team. He was put in the playmaker’s role with Kurt Baker of New Zealand at halfback. Burly Fijian-born France centre Virimi Vakatawa plays at rover with England’s Dan Norton on the wing.

The forwards include veteran New Zealand prop DJ Forbes, Sam Cross and Samoa skipper Faalemiga Selesele

SPECIAL THANKS

Vodafone Fijian 7s playmaker Vatemo Ravouvou yesterday thanked Ryan for being a major part of the team and grooming them to become better players.

“Ryan is our inspiration and I want to thank him for bringing me into the team, if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be here playing for Fiji,” Ravouvou told SUNsports yesterday.

“I’m so happy, I want to thank the Lord for giving us the strength and I thank the team for working hard. It wasn’t easy and it was very hard meeting our neighbours New Zealand in the finals. It is all about defence and that is how we won the cup final.”

The Vodafone Fijians flew out to Singapore last night.

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

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