7s Rugby Needs to Change For the Better in the New Season
Rugby House is wasting no time and has got the ball rolling in earnest demanding maximum performance from national teams.
It is already in the hunt for the right people to run the show, call the shots and produce the results in the end.
It wants fresh blood, new ideas by advertising for applicants for the Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s coach, and strength and conditioning coaches for men and women in the new season,
We had high expectations for our national men’s 7s teams in the 2017-18 season, but we failed badly winning nothing after we let slip the World Sevens Series, Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup Sevens. The good thing is we can make amends and look forward to the new season with renewed vigour.
We can’t afford to slip further and there is a dire need for drastic action to be taken if we are to be winners again.
The last time we won out of the major
7s competition was two years ago and that was the gold medal win at the
2016 Rio Olympics.
A new coach will be in charge for the Fiji
Airways Fijiana 7s team when the sixtournament Women
Sevens Series kicks off in Glendale, Colorado, U.S.A on October 20-21. 2018.
We can only thank the Namotomoto,
Nadi, native Iliesa
Tanivula for what he has done, but we need new blood to drill our women to produce results.
Over the years they were just mere participants, hardly made progress and never won a tournament. The FRU has set the bar for the next coach in that he or she should select a team that would not only participate, but wins the Women Sevens Series and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
This is a realistic and an achievable target and players and coaches must aspire to succeed.
With the help of the strength & conditioning coach, it would help in building consistency in their game. The flat performance in our game was evident in the semifinal against New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco last month.
Even though we thrashed Argentina in the quarterfinal, we failed to spark against the Kiwis.
This clearly reflects that playing in a highly-competitive environment needs more than just skills, speed and flair.
Proper body conditioning enables players to maximise their performance.
Fiji Airways Fijian 7s coach Gareth Baber and his men should learn from the failings of last season and turn it around when the World Sevens Series kicks off in November in Dubai.
Baber should believe in local players instead of looking for manpower offshore.
Fans still can’t believe that we failed so badly in 2018. They need a turn around for the country and their own sake.
Rugby House has clearly set the bar and demands results from those running the show.
Fiji Airways Fijian 7s coach Gareth Baber and his men should learn from the failings of last season and turn it around when the World Sevens Series kicks off in November in Dubai. Baber should believe in local players instead of looking for manpower offshore.