Let’s keep the faith with 7s coach Baber
What a year for 7s rugby! We had the 2017/18 World Sevens Series, Commonwealth Games and then the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco. Despite winning five tournaments in the Series our Fiji Airways Fijian 7s team were beaten to the tape by South Africa. We came out second best to New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games and finished a disappointing fourth at the Rugby World Cup Sevens. Now with our Olympic Games gold medal defence in Tokyo only two years away, it’s important that we not press the panic button, but plan our way through. The Kiwis showed us how it’s done as the Clark Laidlaw-coached side smartly used the Series to build up their team and they targeted the Commonwealth Games gold medal and retaining the Melrose Cup, which they did with flying colours. For us, it’s best that we still put our faith in Gareth Baber to remain as head coach. For someone who took on the challenge after our Olympic Games gold medal triumph in 2016 speaks volumes of his courage and bravery. He signed his contract with Fiji Rugby Union in October 2016, despite the fact that coaching in the World Sevens Series was something new to him. As a player Baber played for Wales in the Series, but never coached a core team. The past two years has been a learning curve for him. Surely, there will be wrong decisions made, but it is all part and parcel of the learning process. The experience he has undergone so far has only made him a much wiser coach. Baber has done well as a 7s coach, but the best is yet to be seen. It will come if only we are patient with him. However, it’s not going to be easy from here on. With the next Series coming up coupled with the challenges of losing several key players such as Eroni Sau to overseas contracts, Baber is set to scout and select new players into his extended squad. This should not be a problem as we have an abundance of talented players he could choose from, but it is the support for our head coach that is needed. This will enable him to work to his best and be able to put together a team that will produce the muchdesired results that we all want.