Mataiasi Stark 
[file photo]
Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s head coach Richard Walker says new 7s recruit Atelaite Buna has quickly justified her call-up after an impressive debut at the Dubai 7s.
Buna, who was previously on the fringe of the 15s World Cup selection, contributed strongly to Fiji’s fourth-place finish last weekend and is set to feature again in Cape Town.
Walker says her progress over the last month has been one of the squad’s standout developments.
“Yeah, it’s been really good. We had some spaces available in camp to get ready for Paradise Sevens, and she was just on the fringe of making that World Cup squad. Some of our players made that World Cup squad, so we brought in others who were close, and it’s also hard when you don’t make one team but come into another with the chance to still make it.”
He said Buna has shown rapid improvement since arriving in camp.
“Buna’s come in and ever since she’s come in she’s been nothing but doing this, just going up, up, up. Really learning, really positive energy. She played well for us at Ignite Sevens. We’re really excited to have her, she’s starting to feel really comfortable, and we’re excited to see her play again this weekend.”
Buna and the Fijiana will aim to build on their Dubai performance as the SVNS Series moves to Cape Town.
The Fijiana 7s side will take on USA at 8.44pm on Saturday, Great Britain at midnight and then New Zealand at 3.48 am on Sunday morning.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
