SUVA, ( FIJI TIMES) – A friend of the Vodafone Fiji 7s team has made it possible for them to have one week in Abu Dhabi before heading down to Dubai for the first tournament of the HSBC Sevens World Series.
The 14 players named in the national side for the first leg of the series depart on Thursday for Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Fiji 7s coach Ben Ryan said the one week would allow the players to get used to the weather and he would have a chance to go through final drills before the Dubai tournament.
“A colleague of mine is hosting us in Abu Dhabi. We will get access to proper training facilities and equipment,” he said.
“We also have games lined up with the Abu Dhabi Harlequins and the USA side.”
A new global report shows annual increase in cost of living over the past year rose steeply in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
According to Mercer’s 2015 Cost of Living Survey, Dubai is the 23rd most expensive city in the world in 2015 (from a rank of 67 last year). UAE capital Abu Dhabi, too, became more expensive since last year — moving from 68 in 2014 to 33 in 2015. Nevertheless, both UAE cities remain considerably cheaper than other expat hotspots such as Hong Kong, Zurich, Singapore, Geneva, Tokyo, London and New York, among several others.
Meanwhile, Ryan expects stiff competition from other teams in the world series.
Ryan departs for Abu Dhabi a day earlier than the team to organise things for the players before they arrive in Abu Dhabi.
Both the Fiji men’s and women’s teams will feature in Dubai.
The women begin their campaign against Canada on Thursday, December 3. The men also face Canada the next day.
Last year Fiji made a winning start in the first leg in Australia but failed to defend Dubai and lost in South Africa.
Fiji also had a disappointing Wellington 7s but got back to winning in Las Vegas and went on to win in Hong Kong straight after that.
