Lanky forward, Joseva Ta­lacolo, will shoulder the responsibility of win­ning the Fiji Airways Fijian men’s sevens restarts at next weekend’s Hong Kong Sevens tournament.

This was the view of Fijian men’s sevens head coach Ben Gollings as the side will be without key for­wards Iosefo Masi and Elia Canakaivata who have signed up with the Fijian Drua.

“Joseva will be our go-to-man,” Gollings told SUNsports yesterday.

Talacolo’s aerial ball skills, offloads and bru­tal defensive play will be vital for the team as the Hong Kong tourna­ment is from November 4-6.

“Restarts are impor­tant in sevens rugby: games are won and lost in kick offs more of­ten. We are blessed to have some very tall boys so Talacolo is one of them. He is an x-factor in that re­gard and on the field. He’s a player that has grown from strength to strength last year and a fantastic finish this season.

“I look forward to seeing him build on that over the next season and in the couple of months. He provides us with a great opportunity in the kick offs and we have been working on that area during our training sessions.”

Gollings added the departure of Masi and Canakaivata had brought a lot of positives to the squad.

“In terms of Masi and Elia, they were given the oppor­tunity to join the Fi­jian Drua for the Super Rugby season. We wish them all the best in the new season ahead. We certainly want to see these two players back in the squad especially when we look at the Olympics.”

Gollings said their re­cent trip to Japan was good for the new play­ers as they were given the opportunity to play and be as­sessed.

Jerry Tuwai, who was part of the team that won the five Hong Kong 7s titles, is being rested.

“With Jerry Tuwai, we sat down after the World Cup and discussed giving him some time off,” Gollings said.

Gollings intends to test other play­ers in the wider squad, like Tira Welagi, Josevani Soro and the 13th player Paula Nayacakalou.

The team flies out to Hong Kong on Sunday.

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