The Pacific nation is mad about the oval ball and is a huge force in sevens, particularly since the discipline was added to the Olympic programme.

There were huge celebrations when Fiji's men won sevens gold at Rio 2016 as the sport debuted, as the success was the country's first Olympic medal of any colour in any sport.

They duly followed that up by defending their title at Tokyo 2020, where the women's team added bronze for good measure.

These remain as the only three medals in Fiji's Olympic history, but although sevens has appeared at the Commonwealth Games since 1998, the country has never topped the podium.

Fiji's men have instead had to make do with three silver medals after losing finals to New Zealand in 1998, 2002 and 2018.

They also won a bronze medal in 2016.

The women, meanwhile, did not make the podium at Gold Coast 2018 when female players competed for the first time.

In a bid to right this wrong, Fiji has named strong sevens teams for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Six Olympic gold medallists are in the men's squad, while 10 of the bronze medallists from Tokyo will compete for the women.

"Definitely for us, it's one of the medals that has escaped Fiji over the years and our target is to go and claim that," said men's head coach Ben Gollings.

Saiasi Fuli, the women's coach, added: "These girls know the expectation and are ready to put Fiji on the world map once again."

Fiji's Chef de Mission for Birmingham 2022, Sale Sorovaki, also comes from the world of rugby.

He made 19 appearances for his country in XVs between 1995 and 1998, scoring two tries.

Sorovaki moved into sports governance and was Chef de Mission for Fiji at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat in Turkmenistan.

He has also worked as operations manager for Fiji Rugby Union, while he was head coach of the sevens team which took part at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing.

At the 2011 Pacific Games in Noumea, Sorovaki was section manager for rugby sevens.

He has a diploma in management of Olympic sports organisation and is a level three qualified World Rugby coach, as well as a certified World Rugby trainer.

The centre played club rugby in New Zealand for Wellington and Manawatu, and also spent four years in Japan with Kintetsu Railway.

Sorovaki will oversee a team of 64 athletes in Birmingham, with rugby joined by athletics, boxing, judo, lawn bowls, squash, table tennis and weightlifting.

"The facilities are athlete friendly and easy to use and the accommodation looks comfortable and suitable for athletes," Sorovaki said.

"The only challenge I see for our athletes will be adapting to the weather, which is why we are lucky that Team Fiji will be in England at least a week before competition actually starts."

Weightlifter Eileen Cikamatana won Fiji's only gold medal at Gold Coast 2018 but she has now switched nationalities to Australia.

Other weightlifting hopes this time include Taniela Rainibogi and Helen Seipua, while sprinter Banuve Tabakaucoro, known as the "Bau Bullet", has won numerous regional titles including 100 metres gold at last month's Pacific Mini Games.

In February, the Queen's Baton Relay visited Fiji, where it began its trip on a canoe.

Other highlights of the visit included a stop at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park.

Fiji will be hoping that rugby gold medals will also be making a journey to the country after the Games.

"I have a good sense of working with people and trying to connect with them regardless of what sport they represent," Sorovaki said.

"I'd like to bring out the best from athletes and challenge them to be their best versions."