Former Fiji 7s Strength and Conditioning coach and the man behind the success of Fiji’s Olympics gold medal wins in Rio and Tokyo, Naca Cawanibuka has warned Team Fiji Rugby Men’s 7s side to be ready for the loud noises from the crowd on game day.
While speaking on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan, Cawanibuka says he hopes the players are ready mentally to cope with the external influence as it can put them off their game.
He mentioned how he went with the Fiji Water Flying Fijians to play France in Nantes last year, and a few of the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua players who were part of the team were surprised by the lights and the noise from the crowd.
He says he has had the privilege to visit a few stadiums around the world but the French stadiums are the loudest.
The Fijian Drua Head of Athletics says history has shown that Paris has been a happy hunting ground for Fiji as they have won a few big games there including the Paris 7s and also winning the 2019 HSBC World 7s Series in Paris.
Cawanibuka says the Flying Fijians have also beaten France in Paris back in 2018.
Fiji will face Uruguay at 3am Thursday in their first match, they will then take on the USA at 6.30am on the same day, before playing hosts France at 1.30am Friday in their final pool match.
The Men’s quarter finals will kick off at 7am Friday.
There will be a break on Saturday for the official opening of the Paris Olympics 2024 before the competition resumes on Sunday.
The semi finals will kick off at 1.30am Sunday, and the final will be at 5.45am Sunday.
