The Fiji Rugby Union is seeking to understand what went wrong for the Fiji women’s rugby sevens team at the Paris Olympic Games in France.
This sentiment was echoed by Fiji Rugby High Performance Women’s manager Alana Thomas in an interview with SUNsports.
The team, which won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, faced a 17-14 defeat to Canada in their opening Pool A match, followed by a surprising 40-12 loss against Olympic debutants China. Coached by Saiasi Fuli, the team now faces a monumental challenge against New Zealand. A win could give them a slim chance of advancing to the medal playoffs.
Thomas acknowledged the tough start to the Olympics.
“The results after day one are disappointing,” she told SUNsports. “However, we will wait to speak to the coaches and our programme manager who is with the team. We had good preparation going into the Olympics, and leading up to day one, the team seemed to be in a good space.”
She confirmed that a review of the Olympic teams is scheduled for August.
It is understood that this review could result in the removal of Fuli as the women’s sevens head coach, given that apart from the Olympics, the team has never won any tournament in the HSBC SVNS.
“As with all tournaments, we conduct a review. We have a comprehensive Olympic review planned, as most High Performance teams or sports do after a pinnacle event to evaluate the cycle,” Thomas said. “This review is scheduled for early August when the teams return from Paris.”
Thomas also addressed allegations made by local coaches on Facebook, stating that she had prevented the women’s team from camping and influenced their training programme.
“Prior to my appointment, the players were contracted and participated in centralized daily training, not camps like the men,” she explained. “After one of the HSBC series legs, we reviewed and agreed to revert the women’s team to a camp-based environment through to the Olympics. Training processes on the field are discussed in reviews, but the staff are responsible for the on-field delivery.”