Fiji Airways Fijian 7s head coach Gareth Baber expects a tough challenge in their Dubai 7s opener against Japan this Friday.

The two teams meet on day one in a Pool A encounter at The Sevens Stadium, as Fiji begins its defence of the HSBC World Series title.

Baber, who is yet to win in Dubai since taking charge in 2016, has named a strong 14-member travelling squad for the first leg.

The Welshman believes Japan will pose a stern test to his side’s credentials and is preparing to counter that threat.

He said: “‘They’ve been here recently and we’ve played against a couple teams in training and also in Oceania.

“They are a great outfit. They work hard, they’ve got good coaches, they resource the programme well and they are willing to spend money.

“They brought 25 players to Fiji for two weeks to experience life here in Fiji playing 7s in the Oceania tournament so they are very serious with what they do.”

The Fiji-Japan game kicks off at 4:02AM (Fiji time). The Fijians then play Argentina at 10:04PM before their last pool game on Saturday against France at 4:02AM.

Edited by Nemani Delaibatiki

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