Peter Mazey Photo: Fiji Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Trustees Board chairman Peter Mazey said the teams' current top four rankings on the table means things are on track.
Mazey told RNZ Pacific while it would be good to win some titles along the way, which are part of the key performance indicators (KPIs) for respective coaches Ben Gollings and Saiyasi Fuli, the focus is now on making sure both teams are thoroughly prepared for the Olympic Games in Paris in mid-2024.
Both coaches will meet with the FRU management and board for a review of the teams' performances.
"That is normal procedure and do that after every tournament," Mazey said.
"We have set our focus on going to the Olympics and winning both the men and women's titles."
There were rumours that men's head coach Gollings might be relieved of his duties because he has not won any tournament title on the HSBC Series since he became coach.
He had won the Sevens Rugby World Cup title in 2022 and guided Fiji to finishing in the top five of the 2022/2023 series, thus qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
There have been a lot of speculation on Gollings' future by Fijian fans, some calling for the former England star to be replaced.
Mazey said they are doing reviews and Gollings has been reminded of his KPIs.
Cape Town results
Fiji finished fourth at the Dubai sevens tournament two weekends ago and third in Cape Town on Monday morning, scoring late in the second half to beat a dogged Ireland 14-7 in the third-place playoff.
They are in equal second position on the points table with South Africa, tied at 30 tournament points. Argentina leads with 38 points.
Captain Joseva Talacolo told the media at the post match conference they still have a lot of work to do.
"We have to work as a team and a lot on our defence," Talacolo said.
"When we go back to Fiji, we're going to regroup and focus on our next tournament in Perth."
In the quarterfinal they narrowly beat France 29-24 from a Filipo Bukayaro try in sudden death after full time ended with the two sides level on 24-all.
Australia then sent them out of the tournament in the semifinals with a convincing 24-7 defeat.
Meanwhile, the Fijiana women's sevens team are in fourth position overall with 24 points. They lost 19-17 to France in the quarterfinals in Cape Town.
The women's team are set to get former Fiji captain Jerry Tuwai as their assistant coach, heading towards the Olympics.
Mazey said they have made the offer to Tuwai, who has not been part of Gollings' squad for the past months because of his own business investments.
Tuwai now runs a boxing promotion business and is a brand ambassador for a Fiji hardware company in Suva.
Samoa 12th in Cape Town
Samoa's mens team finished 12th at the Cape Town event after they lost to the United States of America 24-19 in the 11th position play-off.
Samoa, who were the 2022 Cape Town champions, scored one of the tries of the tournament in the 11th-place play-off against USA, going from deep in trouble in one corner of their in-goal area, via a series of passes, to a try in the opposite corner for Taitaifono Senio Tavita.
They had lost to Spain 24-17 in an earlier elimination match but had beaten New Zealand in pool play on Sunday morning.
Head coach Muliagatele Brian Lima is also developing a squad for the Olympic Games, taking three new players to Dubai and Cape Town.
Fiji players, staff paid up
Meanwhile, Peter Mazey said all FRU staff and sevens rugby players have been paid, following revelations last weekend that payment had not been made.
He said there were technical issues, out of their control, that caused the delay in payments reaching the designated bank accounts for staff and players.
"This was no fault of Fiji Rugby and Westpac Bank have apologised as due to the NPS [National Payment System] going down they had to manually process all pay with different banks," Mazey said.
"Fiji Rugby wasn't the only organisation to face this."
