To be in the Fijiana 7s team and have your husband playing in the Fiji 7s team at the same tournaments was something inspirational yet challenging.
And Laisani Likuceva says that going to the same tournament as her husband, Napolioni Bolaca was a rare and blessed opportunity.
“This is the call of our homeland, we have trained, we have prayed and we have worked hard to earn a place in the teams, and to be going together now is something rare and very special,” the 25-year-old Olympic Bronze Medallist said.
“So much has happened in our lives, and now with a 1-year-old son, I know we have something to work extra hard for. We will not take this lightly.”
The team held their last training session at the Vodafone arena in Suva before they departed for Nadi for an early flight to Canada.
“The team is ready. We are in high spirits and confident it will be a good outing,” coach Saiasi Fuli said.
“We take the criticisms that have been thrown our way and we tell ourselves that we need to build on it. Take the positives, build on it, and let go of the negative influence.”
“This is a sport. These girls won’t be for an entire lifetime, I won’t be their coach for the rest of their life. So I tell them that the only thing we can do is work hard, concentrate, get yourself right with God, with each other, and put your mind to the task that is in front of you.”
Ana Naimasi will captain the team for the back-to-back tournaments this coming week.
The Vancouver 7s tournament takes place on February 23-25, followed by the LA 7s on March 1-3.
