Caucau denied shot at Games

The Fiji Rugby Union will not allow Rupeni Caucaunibuca to play for Fiji at the Commonwealth games in Melbourne in March. The wing's 12-month ban stands.

Waisale Serevi, the greatest Sevens player of all time and now Fiji's player-coach for the Sevens, wanted Caucau, a wing of freakish speed, strength and ability, to play for Fiji at the Games believing that Fiji could well win the gold medal.

But the Union has stood by its ban on Caucau. He failed to turn up for matches against New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga in mid-year, leaving his team in the lurch at the last minute. Currently he is playing for Agen in France and scored a hat-trick of tries in last week's Top 14 match with Toulon.

The Union's CEO Ratu Timoci Tavanavanua told the Fiji Times newspaper on Monday that Caucau's ban applied to the Commonwealth Games tournament as well and would run its course till August 2006.

Serevi had also wanted Filimoni Delasau to be allowed to play but he, too, is suspended, in his case for smoking pot. Presumably his suspension will also stand.

Serevi has uncovered another speedster in Orisi Sarika and has called him up to the training camp on Boxing Day under the guidance of Samu Yavala.

Serevi told the Fiji Times: "Yavala trained the team before it left for Dubai when I was Europe. He got the training program for the Sevens boys. I know what he is able to produce, for he trained us in 1997 for the World Cup."

That year Fiji won the inaugural Sevens World Cup, the Melrose Cup, in Scotland.

Serevi's place as captain of the team has been taken by Jone Daunivucu. Under him the team just lost to England in the final of the Dubai Sevens and then won the South African Sevens in George.