Hong Kong Sevens: Fiji icon Waisale Serevi vows to make Russia ‘giant killers’
- Fiji’s ‘Little Magician’ is ‘sharing the knowledge of sevens’ as Russia’s new coach
- Goal is to get back to the main sevens series – ‘everything we’ve done for the last five months is for that first seven minutes against Uruguay’
At first glance the World Rugby Sevens Series qualifier between Russia and Uruguay on Friday is not an encounter that would normally attract much interest, but these are not normal times in the game.
The US have finally started to realise their potential, Spain beat New Zealand in Vancouver last month, and 30 years after his first appearance at the Hong Kong Sevens, Waisale Serevi is back at the tournament as coach of Russia.
Where once Fiji and the Kiwis stood head and shoulders above the rest, there are now six or seven teams with a realistic chance of winning this weekend, and if Serevi has his way Russia will take their first steps along the road to joining the elite of the sport.
The Fijian has been with his new charges for five months, “sharing the knowledge of Sevens” and trying to turn them into the circuit’s newest “giant-killers”.
“One day I will be gone from this world, or I’ll retire, but I would rather give it [my knowledge] to someone, to a team or a country that needs it, that’s what I am doing,” Serevi said. “It’s part of my giving back to the game.”
