Baber happy with sprinter’s progress
Fiji Airways Fijian 7s flyer Uluiyata Batinisavu has impressed coach Gareth Baber with his defensive capabilities during his maiden international sevens tournament at the ANZ Stadium, Suva.
The former Natabua High School sprinter played exceptionally well showcasing some very decisive defensive capabilities but felt there were more room for improvement if he wanted to cement his spot in the team.
“I know there are some areas that I will need to work on moving forward in terms of having more control in attack and keeping focussed during game situations,” Batinisavu said.
“I need to improve on these areas in order to be able to compete for a spot in the team for the upcoming tournaments.”
Playing in his first international tournament, Batinisavu said he enjoyed the pressure and expectations by the fans especially playing on home ground.
“For me the pressure of playing at home is really high given the expectations local fans had on us to perform. But the support and words of encouragement given to us by our senior players and Rio Olympic gold medallists really eased most of it off.”
However, despite Batinisavu’s impressive defensive display, Baber highlighted that he needed to work on his attack and focus.
“He has done okay, I am pleased with his defence more than anything, he made some good honest tackles but I think he needs to work a little bit on his attack. He has not controlled the ball as well as I would have liked him to.
“But he is a young man, he is growing and we will be seeing how he progresses during the series,” Baber added.