After being dumped by the Fiji Rugby Union for alleged misuse of funds and claims that he was difficult to work with, and, then coaching Taiwan at his favourite hunting grounds in Happy Valley, the Fijian jewel is back at the helm of what many have dubbed the revival of Fiji’s glory days on the international stage.

Questions still remain unanswered till today, was the Fiji Rugby Union cornered into a decision that they dreaded all along because of the public outcry to have Fiji’s favourite son back?

Internal differences, mismanagement, abuse of office and funds, and allegations of player rigging were hurled against the man the world knew and love as the best rugby 7s genius.

Whatever the conclusion, you have the rugby genius at the top helm of Fiji 7s.
At 40 and a father of three, Waisale Serevi has matured over the years.

His classy and trademark goose step will soon fade out but the destruction left on the field over the years is a lifelong memorabilia.

Serevi, who played in 31 IRB 7s tournaments from 2002 -2007 is the series' second highest points scorer overall with 1310 points (79 tries, 457 goals).
The list excludes the Hong Kong 7s where he first played in 1989 as a 19-year-old.
He missed HK in 2001, 2003 and 04.

Former coach Wayne Pivac brought him back for the 2005 RWC 7s and he scored the winning try seconds to fulltime to see a Fiji holiday and celebration after the Melrose Cup.

He spoke to fijilive senior reporter Maikeli Seru this week as he campaigns for another glory hunt in the game he has mastered.

Fijilive: Are you satisfied now?
Serevi: Firstly I thank the Lord for everything that has happened and for giving me the chance to take Fiji to the 7s World Cup and the IRB 7s Series. This is a beginning of a long road and it requires a lot of sacrifice, dedication; not only from me but from the country and all players.

Fijilive: What could be a new concept to your return?
Serevi: My heart is always for Fiji. Whether I am here or anywhere in the world, Fiji is always in my heart. This is where my family is and I have the children of my country in my heart. That is why I always comeback to Fiji. I saw a lot of problems in our games last season and I will try my best to make it better. Mistakes let the team down throughout the last series. We committed the same mistakes starting from Dubai to London and that is for us to improve on. We have to work hard, correct ourselves before we go to Dubai on the first tournament.

Fijilive: So Josateki Savou chose the wrong players last season?
Serevi: I cannot say that the choice of players was wrong. That is the coach’s decision but how he used them was a different story altogether. We know why we choose players, but that season has gone, but as I said there were a lot of mistakes, nearly the same mistakes in every tournament and that is something we will work on during training. We will perfect ourselves because when we practice mistakes will be solved.

Fijilive: Perfection comes with practice and also experience, so players like Semisi Naevo, William Ryder, Mosese Volavola and Lepani Nabuliwaqa could be part of your team?
Serevi: Yes, they are young. They have a lot of years for rugby for Fiji. We cannot create and rate a player from just one game and those players have done a lot of things to deserve their positions in the team. All positions will be determined by many factors including a lot of sacrifice, a lot of training and a lot of hard work. I know they are disappointed because of the last series and I know that they can play better than what they have done. On the field concept is what we do in training and maybe that lacked in the last series.

Fijilive: What about other top Fijians in 15s like Sireli Bobo, Rupeni Caucau, Vilimone Delasau, Jone Daunivucu and even new winger Timoci Nagusa?
Serevi: All players have to be given the chance to play in the World Cup. It comes in every four years and I do not know if most of them would still be around. The door will always be open for overseas and local-based players. I have a strong believe that to be in the team is not up to the coach or the selectors; it is up to individual players. When you play well you could stay longer than others and when you are lazy you have to give a chance to others.

Fijilive: What about you, you 40 and getting slow and people say that you should stop playing?
Serevi: That is a very difficult question for me to answer now. I intend to leave that aside and concentrate on what I am doing because I have set my target from the beginning of the year. Given a chance I will be very happy to play and help Fiji win. I don’t know what will happen later but I am always ready to play for Fiji. I know I am still enjoying playing because I will not play for the rest of my life. I am the only coach in the series who coach and play and it is easier for me to lead that way because by doing so I am showing players what is needed to be done on the field. Practice makes perfect and it is easier to show moves and perfect a game plan when we are on the field rather than trying to transfer everything on the board.

Fijilive: The FRU might demand that you remain on the sideline as per contract.
Serevi: We are still talking and I have not signed my contracts because I want to discuss certain things. I thank the FRU and the people of Fiji for having faith in me. This is a very important task, it is for the people of Fiji and to me I must win the World Cup. I will ask the FRU if I could be given a 100 per cent support in everything I want to do. I have plans and I need a very good support and technical team, people that can work in a team and people who I can trust. People that have Fiji at heart, not people who think only of themselves, not people who points fingers at others and blame the players when we lose. I need honest people and I need conditions where I could have a free hand and support that will help me win the World Cup and the IRB 7s Series.

Fijilive: What about the contract conditions.
Serevi: I cannot talk about that but I am thankful that I have been asked again to serve my people. God is the one who reward the righteous and I hope that the people of Fiji will support me and the players. There are certain clauses in the contract that I want discussed because what is important to me is to win for Fiji.

Fjilive: How do you intend to kill Gordon Tietjens’ reign?
Serevi: We have met and know Gordon Tietjens. He is a good coach and he has a lot of things up his sleeve. He has already showed that he is a great coach. He knows how to prepare his team; he is a great motivator for New Zealand. I salute him for all his wins and I congratulate him for winning the IRB 7s Series for the 7th year. New Zealand is a good team but I know that we can play better than what we did in the last series.

Fijilive: All for Fiji you said. Are you sure you going to win the World Cup not for money but country pride because what Fiji offered might not be the same as what Taiwan has showed you.
Serevi: There’s a lot of difference, and it is every coaches’ dream to win the World Cup. New Zealand wants to take the Melrose Cup, South Africa, England, and even Samoa. They have all showed that they want to win. When we train, we set goals, when we set goals we have to work hard; when we work hard nothing comes easy. Everything can be achieved when we set goals but we are not going to win the World Cup, we are defending it, it’s already here but to defend requires a lot of hard work, sacrifice, support and dedication. I am confident that we will win the RWC again because with God nothing is impossible.

Fijilive

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