Big test this weekend for our sevens players
It will be a big test for the Fiji Airways Fijian 7s team this weekend when they play at the Singapore Sevens.
We have a chance to beat South Africa for the top spot on the points table in the 2017/2018 IRB Sevens Series. The Neil Powell coached- Blitzboks hold a slender 3-point lead over us after they sent their second team to Hong Kong where they lost to us. And again we beat their main team at the Commonwealth Games, as they lost out on their campaign to defend the gold medal. The South Africans are hurt at the moment and sure enough they will come with a vengeance to try to deny us that opportunity in Singapore.
For our coach Gareth Baber, it’s all about checking out the best possible players for this assignment. There’s no room to take injured players and those who have lost their form.
Already, there have been speculations that a couple of new faces could go so that some senior players could take a break to recover, with the hope that they will be in top shape come the Sevens Rugby World Cup in July. It’s all about playing our cards right.
Right now Baber has got upcoming players like tireless forward Apenisa Cakaubalavu, playmaker Tieri Ratini and utility back Sakeo Raloa who are ready to take on the challenge.
We’ve already won in Hamilton, Vancouver and Hong Kong and now we’ve got to maintain that consistency in Singapore.
There’s nothing wrong in Baber blending in these new players and adding depth to our pool of players in the extended squad.
Sevens maestro Waisale Serevi even admitted that having that depth in the squad had set us apart from any other team in the Series.
We need to support the team and whatever players Baber and his coaching crew have taken with them to Singapore.
They know what’s best for our campaign and the calibre of players that are very much suited to execute whatever that is needed to be done.
There’s no turning back now- we’ve seen the fruits of Baber’s work as we wish them well this weekend.
Go Fiji go.
Meanwhile, it was heartening to see last Saturday the start of the Women's 10s competition that is now being part of the 2018 Skipper Cup Premiership. This is a big boost for Women's Rugby in the country, it gives a wider base of selection into the national rugby teams.
Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s coach Iliesa Tanivula said this was needed to boost our women rugby players. Now with our women playing, the onus is on rugby fans to support them by being there to cheer them on every time they play.