Sevens glory was celebrated on Sunday night with the Manu Samoa 7s beating the Fiji Development side 17-12 to claim the Oceania 7s Championship and with that qualification to the World Rugby Sevens Challenger.

There are two reasons to celebrate: the Manusina 7s also made it to the Challenger Series. It was a brilliant effort by the men’s and women’s teams, sporting new players. They were on target from the get-go, garnering massive scores against our Pacific neighbours.

The new coaches Matamua Upati Junior for the men's and Filoi Eneliko for the women's team have done amazing work with the new set of players and breathing life into the sevens game. If the results of the Oceania 7s did not turn out the way it has, the sevens game would have been in dire straits.

The national teams would have had to wait for another year. The qualification to the World Rugby Sevens Challenger presents the Manu Samoa 7s and Manusina 7s with the opportunity to make it to the top competition.

The two teams have to ensure that after the three tournaments, two in Cape Town, South Africa in March and one in Krakow, Poland in April, they are in the top four of the standings. This would allow the teams an opportunity to participate in the promotion-relegation tournament scheduled for May.

For this to happen, both teams need to be supported financially and ensure that they remain as a unit until the objective is achieved. If this means that Lakapi Samoa has to move away from allowances and contract the players, then this should happen.

The cash situation at Lakapi Samoa is not a mystery but work can start now in achieving sevens superiority once again. Samoans are good at sports and this tiny nation has always punched above its weight. A little help and support, even from the government to help the two teams would go a long way.

Rugby is a professional sport and players who have been selected by overseas clubs from the sevens games have gone a long way. They have made careers for themselves and have helped their families. It is no longer just about the men only, the women’s game has also turned professional and the opportunities are there for our young women to rise.

They can start their professional careers at home with contracts for playing for the national team. This way their primary focus is the game. It becomes a career or a livelihood and this could result in top finishes in tournaments resulting in glory for the nation and moving the game forward.

It was a pleasure watching the Manu Samoa 7s and Manusina 7s at the Oceania Championship. It was also overwhelming that three of the local free-to-air channels were broadcasting the game. Now as the two teams move to the next tournaments, we hope for the same opportunity to support the teams.

The Manu Samoa 7s has confirmed participation in regional tournaments such as the Coral Coast 7s in Fiji. We hope that the Manusina 7s are also looking at a similar pathway where they keep their players engaged.

It was also good to see that most players in the teams were locally based. Let us keep these players in the team and not try and get overseas-based players for future tournaments. They worked hard and showed they had the mojo to make it work. Retaining local players would also drive the younger players and create a good base for future selection.

Let us stick to them and hopefully, a new era for sevens rugby awaits us. Well done Manu Samoa 7s and Manusina 7s.