We must have the right material in the 7s camp
Definitely not all is well in the sevens camp, the recent performances and results are testament to this.
Coach Ben Gollings must prove himself that he is still the right person in charge of the highly regarded Fiji Airways Fijian 7s team.
With Australia ended Fiji’s dominance and missing out on the Hong Kong, Dubai and Cape Town titles is a low blow..
To many Fijian fans the back to back loss and inconsistent performance are part of a development process that a Fijian 7s team and its new coaching staff go through.
Like Gollings’ predecessors Ben Ryan and Gareth Baber persevered with whatever resources they have. Despite being scrutinised and pushed to the limit Ryan coached the winning side that brought home Fiji’s first Olympic gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games - that took him four years.
Baber had to start from scrap, he molded the formidable side that won Fiji’s second Olympic gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, it took him four years.
Again we ask the question. Do we have the material in the team to bring us glory again at the 2026 Olympics? Definitely not, fans and some overseas media continue to question the team’s reputation. The ABC Pacific in an article two days before Christmas questioned the Fiji Rugby Union’s coaching strategy, comparing the Samoa 7s team’s achievement against Fiji. Don’t write Fiji off just yet, reputation and standards are built around doing the little things right with good progress.
Rome was not built in a day this is a winning strategy that had worked for Fiji the past eight years. It is the same strategy that made us two time Olympic gold medallists. It’s too early to compare a developing team like Fiji to an ever improving team that spreads like wild fire only to find them fighting for top spot in the HSBS Seven series.
The Englishman has been given ample time to do his job, fix the wrongs and put plans in place.
Give him time and space to get a team together, four years is a lot of time.
In fact the number four is a magic number that two Englishmen and one Welshman recommend one other to get the job done for Fiji.
But that is all water under the bridge and it’s time to start again in Hamilton and Sydney.
Heading to the Hamilton 7s tournament Fiji is currently on fifth position on the HSBC World Sevens Series ladder.
Series leaders Samoa leads the table with 47 points, South Africa 47, New Zealand 44 and USA also at 44 points.
Host NZ will come out firing at home with a statement to make after a good outing early this season. Should Fiji meet one of the big guns in the knockout stages only time will tell how our pool will look like next January.
For Samoa, consistency will be the key word heading to this tournament.
They will be looking for their second title in the HSBC Sevens Series. Standing in their way will be Australia, Fiji, and South Africa.
Our recent outing at the Hamilton 7s tournament was welcomed by the huge turn out of Fijian fans. To some fans back at home and the players playing in Hamilton it was like playing at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
The odds are stacked for our gladiators to rise up to the occassion and deliever a New Years present for all their fans.
In camp the morale of the boys will be high as they look forward to another tournament.
We hope they do. It would be refreshing for a change to beat top guns New Zealand, South Africa, Samoa and Australia.
It’s time to turn things around in Hamilton and move away from being fifth on the points table – this is urgent to save our skin.