Navitalai Raqona, the father of Mosese Naura, praises the sacrifices his son has made over the years to earn a spot in the Fiji Airways National 7s squad for the Vancouver 7s.
While speaking to fijivillage Sports, Raqona says Naura started playing rugby in primary school, participating in the Milo Kaji competition.
Naura attended Navatusila District School in Navosa before moving to Thomas Baker Secondary School for Years 9 and 10.
Raqona says after Year 9, his son wanted to attend Ba Provincial Freebird Institute to complete Year 11 before moving on to vocational training.
He says Naura played rugby league during his vocational days and from there, he joined the Navosa Rugby team for the Vanua competition.
The 52-year-old said last year, they moved to Nadi because Naura had joined the Nadi side as they needed to support his rugby career.
Raqona says when his son was selected to be part of the 7s extended squad, they became emotional, reflecting on the sacrifices they had made, including leaving their village to support him.
He has also sent the family's best wishes to Naura and urged him to give his all, as he is not only representing his family but also their Vanua, and most importantly, the people of Fiji.
The Vancouver 7s will be from tomorrow to Monday.
Fiji will take on Uruguay at 7.18am tomorrow in their first pool match; they will then take on the USA at 12.45pm, before playing Spain at 6.52am Sunday in their last pool match.
The men's cup quarter-finals will kick off at 12.51pm Sunday, the cup semi-finals will begin at 8.30am Monday, and the Cup Final will kick off at 1.05pm Monday.
Meanwhile, the Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s will take on Japan at 10am tomorrow in their first pool match; they will then play France at 3.52pm on the same day before playing Great Britain at 9.18am Sunday in their last pool match.
The women's cup quarter-finals will kick off at 3.32pm Sunday, the semi-finals will begin at 9.14am Monday, and the cup final will kick off at 1.41pm.
