FRU: Process Delays Naming of 7s Coach

The recruiting process and time difference is delaying the an­nouncing of the national sevens coach.

Fiji Rugby Union chief executive of­ficer John O’Connor said there is a pos­sibility that the coach will be named at the end of next week.

“It is a long process. Interviews are done on zoom, after the interviews then there is the vetting process then the ne­gotiation process with the successful applicant,” O’Connor said.

“The name of the coach will be re­leased well before the Spain sevens next month.”

Meanwhile, Olympic double gold med­allist, Seremaia (Jerry) Tuwai, has been named in the top 20 best players by Rugby World Magazine.

He is ranked 16th in the list of its best 100 players globally.

France’s Antoine Dupont was been named the world’s best player.

Wallabies duo, Michael Hooper and Taniela Tupou are placed fourth and fifth respectively while England lock Maro Itoje is ranked third and New Zea­land back-row Ardie Savea is second.

Red Roses wing Abby Dow is the high­est-ranked female player in 11th while Tuwai, in 16th, is the top sevens player.

Fourteen different nationalities are featured in the top 100, with players aged 20 to 36.

Rugby Series makeup for suspended matches

The Swire Shipping Fijian Warriors will have a two-match series with the Vodafone Under-20 side next week.

Fiji Rugby Union Elite Players Path­way (EPP) manager Bill Gadolo said: “The competition makes up for the sus­pended competitions during the COV­ID-19 pandemic since last year.”

The first game is on Tuesday (Decem­ber 14) at 2:30pm at Suva’s ANZ Sta­dium; the second match will be held at Buckhurst Park on Thursday.

“Majority of the players are part of the FRU’s High Performance Unit,” Gadolo said.

“This is to keep things interesting and being innovative with regards to play­ers who have been training.”

Ifereimi Rawaqa will coach the U20.

Kele Leawere will coach the Swire Shipping Fijian Warriors.