Fiji sevens coach Gareth Baber says they want it all and will be going all out to claim victory at both the Hong Kong Sevens and Commonwealth Games.
Fiji have climbed to second on the World Series table after winning two of the last three tournaments, in Hamilton and Vancouver.
Fiji celebrates a try by Paula Dranisinukula en-route to winning the Vancouver Sevens. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
They're also the defending champions in Hong Kong and Gareth Baber said the expectation from fans in Fiji and the team itself is to win every tournament they're a part of.
"This is what the reality of Fijian rugby is," he said.
"Because of the tradition that Fijian rugby has set, both in Hong Kong and in world rugby - and particularly Commonwealth Games - there's a desire to win both.
"Yeah we are being a little bit greedy going after it but we know that they're just as important as each other."
The Fiji team celebrate a third consecutive Hong Kong title Photo: World Rugby - Martin Seras Lima
Fiji have lifted the Hong Kong title in six of the past nine years and are bidding to become the first team to win the event four years running.
New Zealand has opted to send a second-string team to the iconic event, with their head coach and front-line players instead preparing solely for the Commonwealth Games.
Tim Mikkelson is among the New Zealand players skipping Hong Kong to focus on the Commonwealth Games. Photo: Photosport
But Gareth Baber said Hong Kong was not a tournament Fiji could ever approach half-heartedly.
"In the Fijian hearts Hong Kong is massive in terms of what it means to the Fijian people and certainly the players are aware of just how much that means, and obviously it's a scene of last years victory and we want to reproduce that," he said.
"We have great memories of doing that and the confidence that we got from that moving forward was a boost...yeah we'll be focusing very much on that as the next battle.
Gareth Baber is a former coach of the Hong Kong Sevens team and won his first Cup title at the 2017 tournament. Photo: Andy Jones / Hong Kong Rugby Union / AFP
"But in my mind obviously I've got to partner that up with what is the Commonwealth Games the next week so we're gunning for two victories."
An extended 16-man squad flew out for Hong Kong on Thursday, including Olympic gold medallist Semi Kunatani, who was will feature in both the World Series and Commonwealth events after being granted a release from his club Toulouse.
Semi Kunatani is back with the Fiji sevens team. Photo: AFP
