Hard hits, line breaks, a muddy field and friends and family cheering you on; the key ingredients to a great rugby tournament.

The slippery, surface which was the result of some rain the night before did not stop the men and women of the Samoa Independence International Sevens (SII 7’s) tournament from making the most of the event.

With so many different local and international teams taking part in this year’s tournament, if there was one thing the crowd agreed on it was that this tournament is one for the books.

Not only was the participant and crowd turnout a success, but also the level of skills shown on the field

Head Coach of the Fijian Team,  Global Tabadamu, Jale Melovatu was in full agreement.

“It’s a very good tournament,” he said during an interview with Samoa Observer.

“It’s very different from last year, as you can see; the competition is getting really tough.

“All the teams taking part have improved so much since last year, even the local Samoan teams are becoming really tough to take on.

“With skills and game plays improving, my team has to put on 100% every time we get on the field for us to be able to compete successfully.”

Preparations were not elaborate for the Fijian side but they still showed all other teams a tough time on day one of the tournament with their gaze firmly on the top trophy.

“As a team, we in Fiji never really stayed together or held camps like other teams,” Mr. Malovatu said.

“We just get together once a day to train when everyone is free but just like all other teams, we are aiming at that trophy and we will do our best to take it home with us.”

This tournament he said, is invaluable for providing their team with some real game time to improve skills and teamwork.

 “The exposure we get from tournaments like this will help the boys get experience playing against other teams and then ultimately they will be ready to join our Fiji national team later on. “We have some good younger Fijian players coming up and we hope that in the future, they will be able to play for Fiji.”

 “The only thing I want to say to all the Samoan teams and clubs taking part in the tournament, we really love you and we want you to give us really good competition for this year.”