Homegrown Reps for Ba: Delasau
Maintaining composure will be the key for the Vinod Patel Ba senior men’s rugby team as they host Macuata in their Skipper Cup clash on Saturday.
Ba head coach Vilimoni Delasau said they hope to secure their second win for the season against Macuata.
However, he understands that it will not be a walk in the park even playing on their home ground.
“We have a lot of respect for them (Macuata), we’re not taking them lightly,” Delasau said.
“Macuata has been playing in the Skipper Cup competition for quite a while they have been playing some good matches as well. It won’t be easy.
“Our players need to maintain their composure in the heat of the moment, they should have the right mentality and play smart– that will be key if we want to win this Saturday.
“A common problem with players these days is losing their cool during the game, which should not be the case, they have to be consistent throughout,” Delasau added. Ba has only won once in the last six rounds of the Skipper Cup competition when they beat Yasawa 38-28 in Round 2. They lost 29-0 against Suva in their opener, defeated by Tailevu, 33-24, in the third round and lost to Nadroga 22-16 in Round 4. Nadi defeated them in Round 5, 35-17 followed by another 27-15 loss against Lautoka last week at Churchill Park ground 3, Lautoka.
“There are few niggling injuries but it’s not of major concern. The team is still in full set and we want a second win this week and the next three games to remain in the top eight. “We almost beat Nadroga, we gave Nadi a good run but we never brought anybody (players) from outside. “Our tikina competition exposed the raw talent from the village and that’s what we want to do for Ba rugby- to develop players from the Ba highlands and not involve Drua and Warrior players or Army and Police as they have in other teams,” Delasau added.