The Fiji Airways Fijiana will find it even tougher in the next round of the women’s World Series in Canada.
The Canada 7s is expected to be key not only the title race, but also for qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The Fijiana side will meet USA who are bronze medalists from Kitakyushu, Japan last month, fifth ranked France, and Spain in Pool C.
While the race for Olympic qualification has tightened after Kitakyushu, the same is true of the battle to avoid relegation from the series with Spain, Fiji and China separated by just six points with two rounds to go.
The Fijiana will need to step up and go further in the competition to have a better chance of returning to the series as a core team next season.
The top four teams in the 2019 series will confirm their place in the Olympics next year alongside host nation Japan.
Meanwhile, host Canada leads pool A alongside Australia, Ireland, and Brazil, while England take charge of pool B together with New Zealand, Russia, and China.
