Flying iron shows Sevens passion

NABUA – A die-hard Fiji Sevens fan has largely been forgiven for a shattering show of passion last Saturday night.

The unnamed fan threw an electric iron at a 32-inch flat screen Sevens semi-final encounter between the Vodafone Fiji team and New Zealand.

The incident happened in Nabua when a former national representative, whose father was a member of the invincible Nabua Sevens side that scooped major Sevens titles in 1989-90, lost his rag.

The owner of the television set, who preferred to remain anonymous, said she held no resentment and said the incident showed that the Sevens game had a “special place in the hearts of all Fijians”.

She said members of her extended family had gathered at Nabua on Sunday to watch the Sydney Sevens in a specially built temporary shed.

She said her television set was smashed by the flying iron when the referee penalised Fiji during the semi-final.

“Everyone was glued to the TV and we were shocked when he, the former rep, suddenly grabbed the iron which was next to him and threw it at the screen.

“He was disappointed with one of the decisions made by the referee and could not control his emotions.

“In Nabua the Sevens game is very special to us, as it is for all Fijians, and this is an indication of how we feel when the national team loses.”

Despite a part of the screen being smashed by the iron, the incident failed to stop those gathered from watching the remainder of the tournament.

“After the incident we continued watching the game on the half-damaged TV set,” the owner said.

“It was funny though when we wanted to know the scores and we could not find the scores on the top left side of the screen. “Another funny scenario was when we wanted to know who was leading on the Sevens series points table and we did not know which one was Fiji until we heard the commentator say it.”

She said the incident shows that Fijians were crazy about Sevens. - PNC