New Samoa 7s coach, Damian McGrath says his side is ready to take on some stiff competition in the Pacific Energy Ovalau 7s in Levuka this weekend.
McGrath took over the reins as coach last month and says he would have wanted a little more time to prepare the team, with the Olympic Games Oceania 7s qualifying tournament coming up next month in Auckland, New Zealand.
“Almost two months of hard training and we wanted a strong competition before we went to the Oceania qualifiers. If you’re going to play 7s, there’s no place better than Fiji. So we knew that if we came here, we’d get a warm welcome and we’d also get some good competition.”
The Samoan team has been training in Suva for the past three days and departs for Levuka today.
The squad includes experienced reps, Lolo Lui, Falemiga Selesele and speedster, Samoa Toloa.
The two-day Ovalau 7s tournament kicks-off tomorrow at Nasau Park with the finals on Saturday.
The winner will collect $3000.
