Baber Picks His 13 Men
Setareki Bituniyata will be rested in this weekend’s USA Sevens in Las Vegas which starts today at Sam Boyd Stadium.
Alifereti Veitokani earns his spot as the 13th men in the Vodafone Fijian 7s team while Votua, Ba native Waisea Nacuqu makes his return on the 7s field alongside Masivesi Dakuwaqa and Apisai Domolailai as they chase their first 2016/17 World Sevens Series tournament win.
Joining the trio in the 13-member squad are Nemani Nagusa, Sevuloni Mocenacagi, Kalione Nasoko,Mesulame Kunavula,Osea Kolinisau,Vatemo Ravouvou, Seremaia Tuwai,Samisoni Viriviri and Joeli Lutumailagi.
Fiji is grouped alongside Australia, Scotland and Japan in Pool D. They play their first match against Japan at 12:09pm today, Scotland at 3:08pm and Australia tomorrow at 9:50am.
Australia has brought back the experienced trio of Ed Jenkins, Nick Malouf and Tom Lucas to bolster their squad, with the team hoping to build on from their Cup semi-final performance in Sydney.
Scotland will field experienced reps Mark Robertson who has had 51 tournaments and Scott Riddell (53 tournaments) in their squad along with flyers such as James Fleming.
Fiji 7s head coach Gareth Baber has focussed on discipline. Yellow cards have proved costly for them in recent World Series tournaments and it’s something they’ve worked hard to address for this weekend’s event in Las Vegas.
Speaking to Radio New Zealand Baber says “When you get in the heat of battle obviously you fall back on your habit.
“Giving less penalties away and keeping more people of the field will be a big bonus and we know that and the players know it, but it takes a while for some of those things to become habit forming,” Baber said.
Squad;
- Nemani Nagusa 2. Sevuloni Mocenacagi 3. Kalione Nasoko 4. Apisai Domolailai 5. Masivesi Dakuwaqa 6. Mesulame Kunavula 7. Osea Kolinisau 8. Vatemo Ravouvou 9. Seremaia Tuwai 10. Samisoni Viriviri 11. Joeli Lutumailagi 12. Waisea Nacuqu 13. Alivereti Veitokani.Edited by Osea Bola
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