The Royal Navy 7s team from the United Kingdom recognizes the tough competition at the 48th Fiji Bitter Marist 7s and looks forward to the challenge ahead with excitement.

The team arrived in the country last week, which includes two Fijians, Kiniviliame Dakuliga and Manoa Satala.

Team Manager Kalisiana Koroi says despite the change in weather patterns for the players, they are enthusiastic about the upcoming competition.

‘Well we are under no illusions, we know exactly what the Marist 7s is about, the boys know that it’s not going to be easy but the point of us coming all the way here is to come and test ourselves and that’s exactly what we will be doing, it will be 100% all the time and there’s no other better place to test our skills than to test against the teams that are hopefully going to make the Olympics.’

He adds that the team has eagerly awaited the opportunity to participate in this competition for quite some time.

‘We had a 10-week program so because of where we work we can’t get people to come in for camp so we have been given individual programs for 10 weeks and we had three weekend camps which is towards the last three weeks so preparing just before we flew out.’

Koroi says he is grateful for the support from the Force, noting that many wish they could attend the tournament but are unable to due to official duties.

In addition to the two Fijian players, the team also includes two Fijian officials who are part of the squad.

The Marist 7s commences today at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva and will conclude on Saturday.