Sevens progress impress C.E.O.

By Ulimasao Fata 17 January 2018, 12:00AM

Samoa Rugby Union C.E.O. Faleomava’ega Vincent Fepulea’i has praised the performance of the contracted Rugby 7’s players so far after the first two legs of the Sevens Series in Dubai and Cape Town last month.

Samoa 7’s team finished sixth place overall after an improved performance in the Dubai leg and slipped down to ninth place after the Cape Town tournament. 

“Yeah I think we worked really hard, the coaching staff has worked really hard and the union has done a lot of work behind the scenes,” he said.

“Like I said recently at the launch we did last year, contracting the players and getting paid to play Sevens on top of their travelling allowance is a step forward.”

“So players have also responded and I think the fitness level is there.”

Faleomava’ega believes the only problem right now is inconsistency between the tournaments.

He added some players sustained serious injuries in between tournaments.

“And I think in terms of performance, they need to be consistence.”

“The coaching side are working really hard on those areas, and a couple of serious injuries in the squad, but we are confident that our wider training squad will fulfill the main aim of the union to try and reach the top five for this year’s competition.”

Faleomava’ega mentioned they are also looking for good performance at the Commonwealth Games and World Cup in San Francisco later on this year.

The Manu Samoa 7’s squad is camping at Tauranga before heading to Sydney.

Their preparations for the next two legs are on track in terms of bonding and good combination.

 “Sir Gordon is putting through program with the players and working really hard to try and get the right combination for the next two legs and at the same time trying to define the balance of where we can improve with the consistency.”

By Ulimasao Fata 17 January 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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