Top clubs clash in Suva 7s

The Fiji Times - Tuesday, November 03, 2009 7:50 PM

TOP guns on the local 7s scene are among 56 teams that will battle for top honours in the Suva Sevens Series which starts Friday at the National Stadium.

The inaugural event will herald the new 7s season with exciting games predicted to be the order of the day by organisers who anticipate a tough and high level of competition.

Suva Rugby Union chairman Vilikesa Rauca said some of the west teams had opted for the second leg of the tournament in Lautoka but still the top clubs had all confirmed.

The likes of Army, Police, Red Rock, Sandhill, Wardens, Nasinu, Lomaiviti and Ratu Filise have all entered the race for the $5000 first prize.

Rauca said there were more teams, which wanted to take part but organisers had to stick to their deadline.

"There were some teams, which wanted to pay later this week but we needed to get the pools and draws done," he said.

"So we had to go with 56 teams for the event as the logistical side of the tournament needed to be done."

"This is a great build-up to the Digicel International 7s Festival to be held in January," Rauca said.

Apart from the men's teams, there will be the women's grade, oldies, Indo-Fijian and under-19 played.

The Digicel Suva Rugby Festival in January will see 200 international and national teams competing.

The Suva Rugby Festival 2010 is the largest international sevens festival ever planned in Fiji and will be the first international sevens tournament in ten years.

The festival was officially launched by the Suva Rugby Union in July as part of the build-up to its centenary celebrations in 2012.

Suva will host international sevens teams from Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Manawatu and Hong Kong.

Entry fees for fans this week will be $5 for adults on each day and $2 for children under-12.