The Fiji Rugby Union is seeking explanations for the underwhelming performance of the Fiji women’s rugby sevens team at the Paris Olympic Games in France.
This was conveyed by Fiji Rugby High Performance Women’s manager Alana Thomas during an interview with SUNsports yesterday.
The team, which won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, faced a 17-14 defeat to Canada in their opening Pool A match and suffered a surprising 40-12 loss to Olympic newcomers China. Led by coach Saiasi Fuli, the team now faces the challenging task of defeating New Zealand today. Should they succeed, their chances of reaching the medal playoffs remain slim.
Thomas acknowledged the difficult 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 leading into the Olympics, and the reports suggested the team was in a good position.”
She also confirmed with SUNsports 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, especially since the team has not won any tournament in the HSBC SVNS apart from the Olympics.
“As with all tournaments, we conduct a review. We have a comprehensive Olympic review planned prior to the Olympics, as do most High Performance teams or sports after a major event, to review the cycle.
“This review is planned for early August when the teams return from Paris,” Thomas said.
Additionally, Thomas addressed allegations made by local coaches on Facebook, accusing her of preventing the women’s team from camping and influencing their training schedule.
“Before my appointment, the players were contracted and placed in a centralized daily training, rather than in camps like the men.
“After one of the HSBC series legs, we conducted our review and agreed to reintegrate the women’s team into a camp-based environment through to the Olympics. The on-field training processes are discussed in reviews, but the staff are responsible for the execution on the field,” Thomas added.