France over Fiji 24–17 in a men's Cup Semifinal match at the 2025 Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens at Kai Tak Stadium on 30 March 30. Photo: World Rugby / Zach Franzen
Opinion - Fiji teams face tough tests at this weekend's Singapore Sevens.
Singapore will be the world sevens regular season finale, where the league winners will be crowned.
But it will be the toughest test for the Fijians, because of the tournament format adopted by World Rugby for this weekend.
There are no quarterfinals for this round, in either the men's or women's competitions.
That means only the top two teams from each pool will advance into the semifinals.
The Fijians are in pool D, alongside USA and New Zealand.
Both are not easy teams.
And if last weekend's showing at the mecca of sevens rugby, Hong Kong, is anything to go by, then coach Osea Kolinisau's men will need to be at their best in both their pool matches.
Last weekend at the Kai Tak Park, Fiji lost three matches, going down to Argentina, France and Australia, in what probably is one of the worst results for the side at the tournament.
Kolinisau knows there will be no space for mistakes and indecisions on the field in Singapore.
Fiji sits on second place behind Argentina on the overall points table. They have 76 points to their name, with the Argentines at 88 points.
Argentina head Pool A as the hot favourites, where they will meet South Africa and Great Britain. No one can rule out an upset, especially with the Africans, who have shown they can step up to any challenge at anytime.
Kolinisau has lost captainJerry Matana, who was injured in Hong Kong. He has been replaced by Tira Welagi, who jetted out of Nadi on Thursday.
The captain's armband goes to Sevuloni Mocenacagi, the veteran of the side.
Former Fiji national rep Tomasi Cama Sr said the side just needed to focus on their own game and do the basics right.
He said the players must learn how to read the game, where to be at what time, and support each other, especially on the carries.
Taking wrong options have caused the side defeats, he added.
"What I have seen in the side is they tend to play [with] too much individualism," he said.
"They are also lured into the gap traps by the opposing teams and they get isolated.
"Against Argentina they were getting taken out by the opposition because they were not playing as a team."
The former Flying Fijian and sevens rep said the team must focus on winning both their pool matches first.
"Get that done and then have a rest, review and go again."
Fiji rugby commentator Satish Narain said the series has seen teams improving across the board, including Spain and France, who were just learning the sevens game 10 years ago.
"Fiji has remained stagnant, while the others have improved and moved on," he said.
Getting the Singapore title could be the change Kolinisau is hoping for, as the team works on getting back its number one status.
Fijiana in tough fight
The Fijiana women's team are also in a tough spot.
They are currenlty on seventh spot on the points table, with 38 points to their name.
That is one point ahead of Great Britain, who is sitting at 8th position and six clear of Spain on ninth spot.
The Fijian women face Ireland and France in their pool matches, and will need to finish at the top to advance into the semifinals.
That is going to be a tough ask, espcially now with playmaker Lavena Cavuru out with injury.
Head coach Richard Walker will have no replacement for the nippy player, but he has some experienced ball players in the side.
Cama said the Fijiana have played a better structured game than their male counterparts.
However, he reckons their indecision at times have cost them matches.
"I see they have a lot of good ball carriers and line breakers but sometimes they just take the wrong options, are caught out and lose possession in the end," he said.
"I believe if they just stick to their game, be patient, get the ball going the width of the field, return passes and move forward, the gaps will open and they can strike."
New Zealand women and Argentina men lead the current sevens standings after back-to-back titles in Vancouver and Hong Kong.
The top eight ranked teams overall at the end of the Singapore round qualify for the sevens World Championship, while teams placed ninth to 12th enter the sevens playoff, fighting to avoid relegation to the second tier, in Los Angeles on 3-4 May.
The second tier of sevens - the Challenger Series - resumes on 11 April, with teams fighting for a spot in the promotion/relegation playoff.
