All the heats are done and our semi finalists are confirmed. Vote to get your favourite Fijian Flyer into the coveted Gold Medal race.
As always special thanks @fijisevenshl who has once again put together a compilation of the players in the race.
Lane 1 – Alipate Ratini (Namosi) Rugby Union
Ratini who is one of the favourites to win the award finished fourth in heat 1 beating out fan favourite Vilimoni Delasau who was a surprise early exit. Ratini is a former high school sprint champion and faces stiff competition to progress.
Lane 2 – Jarryd Hayne (Macuata) Rugby League
League legend Jarryd Hayne had some solid support in the final heat, finishing third to Marika Vunibaka and former team mate Semi Radradra. Definitely a dark horse but we expect him to finish anywhere from 3rd to 6th.
Embed from Getty ImagesLane 3 – Akuila Uate (Nadroga-Navosa) Rugby League
Super League flyer Akuila Uate finished second in the stacked third heat behind only Rupeni Caucau. We expect him to advance to the final stage but is polling against some new faces but at the very least beating off players like Suliasi Vunivalu, Ratu Naulago and Samisoni Viriviri is a big achievement.
Lane 4 – Marika Koroibete (Namosi) Rugby Union
The Wallaby is one of the favourites to win a medal but didn’t have it all his own way in heat one with only 6 votes separating him and second place Alasio Naduva and a further 7 votes behind was Sireli Bobo. We expect Koroibete to go through to the final but could possibly be on the outside lane.
Lane 5 – Joeli Lutumailagi (Nadroga-Navosa) Sevens
The Nadroga flyer and fan favourite comfortably won the second heat but is up against some serious competition in this semi final. It will be interesting to see where he polls in this one considering the other names in this race.
Lane 6 – Marika Vunibaka (Lomaiviti) Sevens
The Vione speed demon surprisingly finished second in the final heat to Semi Radradra. Nevertheless, with the Rakaviti Facebook page picking up a lot more followers, expect Vunibaka to get a top two spot in this one with the added exposure.
Lane 7 – Sitiveni Sivivatu (Cakaudrove) Rugby Union
Former All-Black Sitiveni Sivivatu polled third in heat three and is a strong outsider to progress given his popularity. What’s interesting is Sivivatu’s votes picked up towards the final days of the voting so he comes into this with a bit of momentum.
Embed from Getty ImagesLane 8 – Sevu Reece (Kadavu) Rugby Union
Reece finished fourth in his heat with only 12 votes between him and 7th spot. He faces an uphill battle to finish in the top four spots in this semi but with the right voters he could possibly scrape into fourth yet again.
Semi Final 1 has ended. See results below. Stay tuned for Semi Final 2 tomorrow.
