AS top teams gear up for the Fiji Bitter Marist 7s tournament this week Sailosi Naiteqe Sr aims to unearth some new talents from Navatuvula Village in the tikina of Vuna, Naitasiri.
The former Naitaisiri winger and coach is sponsoring the Navatuvula Samurai Sharks side in one of the biggest 7s tournaments in the country.
The village-based club along the Waimanu River will not leave any stone unturned as its players will want to carry on the legacy of their ancestors in the rugby field.
Established in the 1970s, Navatuvula men used to play for the Waimanu Rugby Club.
As the Waimanu area consist of a large number of interested players the club was part of the Suva Rugby Union competition, the Naitasiri North Rugby Union and Rewa Rugby Union.
This time they only compete in the Naitasiri Rugby Union.
The village have produced Fiji rugby players such as Jone Kubu in 15s, Lemeki Duidimo and Sakenasa Aca in 7s.
Naiteqe Sr said he had put together a side — Samurai Fijian Grenade in Queensland, Australia to compete in some of their 7s tournaments.
The side have been participating in some of the local tournaments to preparing themselves for the Marist 7s.
“The side won the Waimanu mini 7s last week and it was a good buildup for them leading up to the tournament,” he said.
“I wanted to sponsor this club because of our close tie with Waimanu Rugby Club and there are a heaps of talent in the village that needs to be exposed.”
He said his main aim was to make sure that the Fijian rugby 7s talent would not go unnoticed. The Marist 7s will start on Thursday in Suva.
