Solomon Teams win gold medals in AFL 7’s touch footy World Cup in Australia

Solomon Islands teams won the AFL 7’s touch footy World Cup in Melbourne yesterday.

Solomon Islands two teams comprised of seasonal workers in Australia competed in Division 1 & 2 and both teams emerged victories winning gold medals in their categories. Team A went throughout the tournament undefeated after beating China in the final whilst team B also won its grand-final against Nepal.

Coach player Billy Manu said: “We had a few new faces that played for us this year. Team A snatched gold and was undefeated throughout the whole tournament.”

He said word was that China and Switzerland were going to come out strong.

“I actually asked the boys if we could do some extra training just to work on some game structure come game day that we can execute. The boys were committed to it. They kept turning up for training even though it was hard working all day and still showing up for training. Our aim was to win gold for Solomon Islands, and we did it. All the hard work paid off. As a coach, I am super proud of our team A,” Manu told SBMOnline tonight.

For team B, Manu said they started off a bit slow.

‘We lost our first game against Nepal. They Nepal started off undeafed. We had to make some adjustments and came back for our game second, It was a draw due to one of the players of the opponent being injured. We had to share points that put us in a tricky position because the Netherlands were sitting second, which means we have to beat the Netherlands to make it to the semi’s. We came out ready for them, I emphasised to them that, we represent our country and we need to prove it that, we can do it, if we play as a team, and believe in ourselves. And we did. We beat Netherlands by heaps and secured a spot in the finals against Nepal. The message that I told them was, “They beat us in round one. Let’s beat them in the finals. We came out ready and executed our game plan and won the finals,” said the coach/player.

The Solomon Islands teams consist of seasonal workers in Australia.

Manu wishes to thank all their major sponsors. SIVA and SIVA President Fiona Maelasi for unwavering support towards the team and also Fabian who organisedtransportation and also He played for team Solo as well