Kolinsau said he is excited about them and looks forward to seeing them in action on the field in the Fiji jersey. Photo: Supplied / FRU Media
Fiji Men's Sevens coach Osea Kolinisau says the goal for his team is to win this weekend's Dubai Sevens tournament, which kicks off the 2024/2025 World Sevens Series.
He says that to achieve this, the team will need to play all their matches according to their game plan.
Fiji is pooled with New Zealand, the United States, and Spain in Pool C.
Kolinisau, who led Fiji to their first-ever Olympic gold medal win at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, is in Dubai with the team.
He coached Fiji to the Paris Olympics earlier this year, but failed to reclaim the gold the team had won in Tokyo in 2020.
Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) appointed him head coach after the Olympics, giving him a four-year tenure, which expires at the next Olympic Games in 2028.
In the meantime, he will have to impress both the FRU and the sevens-crazy Fijian fans all over the world, who believe their Fijian team are the masters of the abbreviated code.
As he starts his first tournament in his new role, in a pool that will demand the best from his players, Kolinisau said their focus will be on their own game plans and what they have been practicing in training back home in Fiji.
"The goal, when going into any tournament is to always win, and there is no use going if the goal is not to win," he said.
"We will focus on our standards," he said. "And we want to make sure that we execute all that we came for, especially on our set-pieces and our defensive shape.
"I am looking forward to a good weekend from the boys."
The Fiji men's team kicks off their campaign against Spain on Saturday evening, before facing USA on the same night. Photo: Supplied / FRU Media
The format used now means teams must win their pool matches, with the top two teams going into the quarterfinals, with the best two third placed teams joining them.
That basically means Fiji must beat all three pool opponents, who are not easy teams to beat, as they have proven in past events.
But Kolinisau is hopeful that the former world number one sevens team will be able to get the result they are aiming for.
He has been espounding on his team the importance of getting their own game right, in every game.
"I would like to see the boys play as a team and execute all our defensive set-ups and attacking pattern," he said.
"I would like to see the boys fully understand what we have practised and play to our level, playing the Fiji rugby style."
New caps in the team are Kavekini Tanivanuakula and George Bese.
Kolinsau said he is excited about them and looks forward to seeing them in action on the field in the Fiji jersey.
"I am excited about the two debutants and it was exciting seeing them get wide-eyed in for the first team walk at the stadium," he said.
"I see they are excited and ready to go. I can't wait to see them don the white jersey and seeing the bring out what I saw in them, hard work and the skills they got."
Fiji is pooled with New Zealand, the United States, and Spain in Pool C. Photo: Supplied / FRU Media
The Fiji men's team kicks off their campaign against Spain on Saturday evening, before facing USA on the same night.
Their final pool game will be against New Zealand early on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, the Fijiana women's team is also in Dubai, joining their men's counterpart as the only Pacific Island teams at the event.
The Fijiana sevens are pooled with Ireland, Australia and China. They kick off their campaign against Ireland on Saturday evening as well, and follow that up with matches against Australia and China.
Finals are scheduled for Sunday night.