UNKNOWN Tale Barbarians won the hearts of many fans during the Fiji Bitter Nawaka 7s at Prince Charles Park in Nadi yesterday.
The Tale Barbarians, made up of Ratu Navula Secondary School dropouts from the past two years, surprised many to reach the final of cup competition against Tokatoka Resort Westfield Barbarians One.
While the side was walloped 7-31 in the fixture, the Tale Barbarians bowed out of the tournament with their heads held high.
Tale Barbarians defeated Veiyasana 21-5 in the first Cup eliminations. In the second elimination, the side upset Wardens Gold 18-7.
In the quarter-finals Tale Barbarians beat Western Police 26-7 while in the semi-final the side downed Tovolea 19-7.
Tale Barbarians coach Josaia Rokomarawa said their aim was to groom players for future national duties.
He said reaching the final was a positive step.
"The team is made up of the school dropouts and comprises of the players who were with the Ratu Navula U18 team that lost out in the Deans competition in the past two years," Rokomarawa said.
"The aim is to see these players don the national jumper. There is a lot of potential in the team."
"We have set a bench mark by selecting the players from the school. Once we see the potential we mould them into better players."
"Reaching the Nawaka 7s final is a positive step. We have a bright future. Just wait for several months this team will become unbeatable."
Some of the standouts for the Tale Barbarians included Fiji 7s extended squad member Kitione Taliga, captain Ledua Ratumuru who represented the Fiji Warriors in the Uprising Fiji International 7s tournament and Fiji Under-20 squad member Jone Tanoa.
Tale Barbarians received $3000.