Plans are in place to fly Bristol Bears superstar Semi Radradra out to link up with the Fijian international 7s squad ahead of this summer’s delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
The Fijian 15-a-side captain is one of a number of foreign-based stars the Pacific Island nation are looking to bring into the fold once their club commitments from the 2020/21 season are over, in a bid to earn a second gold medal in the shortened version of the game having been crowned champions in Rio in 2016.
Radradra, who is predominantly a centre in the full version of the game, has experience playing for the Fijian 7s side in the past and in fact, got spotted by NRL side the Parramatta Eels while featuring for Fiji back in 2011.
Fiji Rugby Union chief executive officer John O’Connor told The Fiji Times: “We are considering the likelihood of some overseas-based players joining the team in Australia.”
“We are still having discussions on that at the moment."
Discussing Radradra, O’Connor added: “We are considering the option of whether we fly him to Australia or direct to Japan.
“He will be in camp with the rest of the boys chosen before the final selection of the Fiji men’s 7s team for the Olympics.
“We are considering all the best available options presently because the idea is to ‘bring back the gold from Tokyo’ so in order to achieve that mission, only the best players will don the white jersey with the coconut tree emblem.
“Nothing is finalised at the moment and we are keeping our fingers crossed.”
Bristol Live understands Bristol Bears are yet to receive any official correspondence from the Fiji Rugby Union on the matter yet.
The rest of the Fijian national 7s side, clearly not Radradra who scored two tries for the Bears in their 26-23 win over Leicester Tigers on Saturday, are currently in Australia preparing for the three-day PacificAus Sports Oceania 7s tournament at Townsville Stadium which will take place between June 25-27.
Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and an Oceania Barbarians side will play in the tournament, replicating the Olympic format to allow the international sides to prepare for the Olympics which are due to take place between July 23 and August 8.
The Olympic 7s competition is due to run from July 26-28 at the Tokyo Stadium which was one of the key stadiums used in Japan during the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
