Australian teams here to win
Two teams from Australia are ready to battle the best teams in Samoa in the Vodafone Teuila International 7s tournament at Apia Park which gets underway on Friday.
An ava ceremony was hosted by Wesley College to welcome the First Nation men's team and the Australia A women's team on Thursday.
Captain for the First Nation men's 7s team Gage Phillips believes his team is ready for whatever comes their way in the tournament. They have prepared well and have adjusted to the heat well.
"A lot of us are very quick. You will see on the weekend that a lot of our boys are really quick. Walking out on that field, the ball will do the talking. We play a really quick style of footy. You might be surprised with the way some of the boys move around the field," he said.
"I think the preparations are really good. Adjustments to the heat, some of these boys have played in the 40 degrees so it's all about the first two days and adjusting to the heat here. It's a beautiful country and we love it here."
Captain for the women's 7s team, Ava Wereta shares the same sentiment. She also spoke about her experience in Samoa.
"It's such a beautiful country, I'm obsessed. The people, culture, and everything were just beautiful. It's hot here compared to home. But it's all worth it. Preparations have gone well. We had our training session on Wednesday then we had our captains run today," she said.
"So, obviously the conditions are a bit different to what we're used to but we are slowly starting to adjust. We've got a newish kind of team here, some of us have played together and some of us haven't. But we've come together to get our combination."
The 18-year-old is ready to lead Australia A 7s this weekend and they are here to play footy.