It is crucial for the Fiji Airways Fijian 7s side to have a good playmaker in order to continue their winning momentum says, sevens maestro Waisale Serevi.

Serevi is in the country with the Russian national 7s team that will be playing in to­morrow’s Fiji Bitter Marist 7s at the ANZ Stadium, Suva.

Serevi told SUNsports that he’s grateful for the opportunity to get his team to compete and experience the Fijian style of rugby.

“I thank God for the opportunity and the Russian rugby union for having the faith in me to coach them,” Serevi said.

“As of our Fijian 7s side we have lost be­cause we have lost our playmakers like Amenoni Nasilasila and Waisea Nacuqu.

“At the moment we have two experienced playmakers in the side Nacuqu and Jerry (Tuwai). At this level of competition we not only need to have 7 best players but 12 ex­cellent players, so when any unexpected in­cident happens during the game nothing is affected at all.

“I also love watching Terio Tamani play and I’ve met him in most tournaments and he’s a good player.

“With him being there for Fiji is an advan­tage and having good playmakers in the side is very important as they are the ones that run the show.

Serevi said coaching the Russian 7s team is a new experience for him as the players are eager and desperate to learn new things every day.

“We are here with 28 players and I’m train­ing these players and have plans to go and compete in a 7s tournament in Moscow as I’ve been given the privilege to select the best team.

“In January we have been to Dubai, Chile and Uruguay competing as well as training at the South African Academy where we used camped and used their facilities.”

Serevi said for the Marist 7s their main ob­jective is to learn and winning is a bonus for them.

“I want to see these players acquire as much experience as they can.

“We played a different kind of sevens in various countries we visited and here in Fiji we will be playing a different style of game as well.

“The main purpose behind us coming here is to learn as much as we can out of this tour­nament.

“Winning is not all about playing a sport but it’s about rugby development as that is the goals I’ve set for the team.”

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

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