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The Solomon Islands national rugby 7s team has received a timely boost in their preparation for the Pacific Mini Games in the Cook Islands which begin in September.

A prominent local businessman, Namson Tran, has donated sporting equipment worth a total of $31,000 to the national side as they are gearing up for the event in Rarotonga.

The equipment, which includes training gear, rugby jerseys and boots, was handed over to the team’s captain Edmond Tai, on behalf of Tran, by head coach Jim Seuika during a ceremony at the team’s training ground.

Seuika had said before the donation that the team had quite basic equipment to train with, and that he was very grateful for the assistance which has helped motivate the boys during training and prepare them for the forthcoming tournament.

The national rugby 7s team is one of the seven sporting teams selected by the National Olympic Committee of Solomon Islands (NOCSI) to represent the country at the Pacific Mini Games.

The Games, which is purely for countries from around the South Pacific and began in 1981 in the Solomon Islands, is the younger brother of the Pacific Games - which began in 1963 - and allows smaller nations to compete against each other.

22 countries will participate in 14 sports including boxing, rugby league, squash, canoeing, Touch Rugby and of course Rugby Sevens – which is scheduled for the 1st and 2nd October – at the event which is being held in Rarotonga for the second time. It is rotated on a four year basis in the intervening years between the Pacific Games. 

It is a busy time for Sevens in the Solomon Islands. As well as preparing for the Pacific Mini Games, the Solomon Islands Rugby Development Department is planning to kick off this year’s women’s Rugby Sevens competition next month.

With the successful tag rugby competition now over, the department will be conducting field-training sessions for girls and women who participated in the tag competition or for those who want to be part of the Sevens competition.

With the tag competition demonstrating a growing interest in the sport from women, it is hoped and believed that the awareness of Sevens can also expand in the same fashion.

The sessions are intended to teach girls the general skills and concepts of rugby, including contact skills such as taking the ball into contact, the tackle, the scrum, ruck and maul, and the kick off, before the competition begins.

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