Mataiasi Stark 
The McDonald’s Coral Coast 7s proves to be a crucial part of the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua’s preparations as they build towards the upcoming Shop N Save Supermarket Super Rugby Pacific season, with Drua 7s head coach Nemani Nadolo highlighting the tournament’s importance in shaping the squad.
Competing in front of home supporters and against strong opposition, Nadolo says the tournament offers invaluable match exposure at this stage of the pre-season, allowing both senior and development players to grow into the Drua environment.
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“A competition like this that’s really strong, it’s up there. It’s great exposure for our senior players but also our development boys. It gives them an opportunity to taste what it is to wear the Fiji Drua jersey and it’s great for us.”
Nadolo noted that the team looked more composed in their latest outing at the Coral Coast 7s, with players beginning to express themselves and work more cohesively as a unit. I just think we’re a bit more settled today. We know how good we can be and just to see the boys express themselves. For me it was more about just going out there and expressing themselves and working together as a unit, and I think we showed that today.”
He added that the tournament is also playing an important role in managing player workloads, particularly for those returning from injury, as the Drua fine-tune their preparations ahead of Super Rugby Pacific.
The Coral Coast 7s continues today at Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka and you can watch it LIVE on FBC Sports.
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