The calmness on his face
JOSEVA Talacolo made an immediate impact on his outing in Dubai last year.
He was ruthless and was a key figure in our forward play.
The calmness on his face (FT 13/01) speaks a lot about the vigor and passion
Novak Djokovic
LOVE him or loathe him, world tennis No.1 Serbian Novak Djokovic must do the proper thing.
Follow medical sciences and take the COVID-19 jab or smarten up, follow the rules — no jab; no entry; no Australian Open 2022.
It is so simple. Please stop giving Australian Federal Government and Australian Tennis all this needless hassle through your out-smarted arrogance and smart alec attitude.
Pack up and go home quietly, please. And respectfully too.
Or face deportation.
RONNIE CHANG
Martintar, Nadi
All Blacks fan
FREQUENT contributor to this column, Rajnesh Lingam, deems himself an ardent All Blacks fan (FT 14/02) but he is a Fiji 7s fan. Hahaha.
Sorry buddy, I reckon only those of us who support the All Blacks 15s & 7s are the ardent fans.
O keitou qori. Hahaha.
ANTHONY SAHAI
Suva
Omicron variant
THE permanent secretary for the Ministry of Health has revealed that the Omicron variant was already prevalent in Fiji prior to the opening of the international with which he donned the national jumper.
Jo played for Tabadamu and the Police Blue side.
He impressed selectors and former coach Gareth Baber and made the trip border.
This revelation triggers many questions such as: If this was the case, then why it was not disclosed at that instant?
What is the evidence of this claim? When was the test done and result obtained?
When and how it entered our shores? Why the act of secrecy to withhold information when other countries promptly disclose their cases?
Recently, even the Greek island of Cyprus instantly disclosed the new variant Deltacron discovered there.
Is this bombshell disclosure contrived to evade public scrutiny and wrath on political failures of ministers who were desperate to open the borders for economic rejuvenation while being unscrupulous with the proliferating status of the virus that’s creating havoc globally?
Furthermore, the laxity and nonchalance attitude of some of our people is bearing serious consequences for us all.
Contrary to the vigilance displayed by the police during the initial onslaught, they were barely seen enforcing law as expected of them. Some gullible and naive people took advantage of the situation and now the whole nation is suffering.
I think that every man is for himself now; either you practise vigilance to protect yourself and your family or be a casualty.
RAVIND CHANDRA NAIDU
Tuatua, Labasa
Up for the challenge
NOW that Ben Gollings has joined the men’s 7s team, he is fighting against time to finetune our set pieces and moves and to Townsville for the Oceania 7s but missed the cut for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
I’m sure Jo will make the cut for the Malaga 7s in two weeks’ time.
He reminds me of the playing days of prepare a competitive and formidable outfit that will take South Africa, England and Scotland head on in Malaga. In his absence, Saiasi Fuli was doing the hard yards and was in touch with Ben Gollings. In the sports article titled “Fuli optimistic about 7s team preparation” by Waisale Koroiwasa (FT 13/01), Fuli shared about the team’s preparation, heading to the Malaga and Seville 7s tournaments in Spain.
He shared that a little twist on the players’ mental toughness would boost the 7s team.
According to Fuli, the boys looked sharp and were ready to go back and play and provide positive results. Gollings, who joined the team this week, has little time, but he will gain a lot of experience with the 7s team in Spain. It will take time and fans will have to be patient with results. All the best Gollings! RAJNESH ISHWAR LINGAM
Nadawa, Nasinu
Reading challenges
FRED Wesley’s editorial (FT 13/01) about children’s challenges with reading caught my attention.
That the principal Praveen Chand was saddened and got emotional learning that kids have literacy issues says a lot about what the real problems are and why children are losing their love for books.
When parents read, there’s a good chance their children will enjoy reading.
Part of the problem is that today’s school system and school curriculum have been developed without due consideration of the changing times and changing
“The Beast” — always lethal with ball in hand, raring to hit the opposition and ready to pounce on the opposition with some heavy and massive hits.
RAJNESH ISHWAR LINGAM
Nadawa, Nasinu technology.
Today’s children have a host of media sites on their phones including games they can easily access. Tonnes of information and entertainment is available at a single touch in seconds.
When I was growing up, we had nothing of the kind. No mobile phones, no internet or computers. Life was different.
We spent time playing outdoors. And when we were at home, we read comics and books.
Today’s school curriculum needs to be overhauled and redesigned to cater for the changing needs and changing trends.
Getting children excited about reading requires a creative approach. Each child is different with a love of different hobbies and interests.
The one size fits all approach leaves many children bored and disinterested.
When you learn what excites a child, it’s not difficult to pique their interest, especially when you bring characters to life from where they’re at.
Children also watch and learn from adults.
The old saying, “monkey see monkey do” still works today.
If children grow up surrounded by books, there’s a good chance they’ll like books.
Sometimes there’s far too much emphasis on education and learning rather than excitement and adventure.
Make reading exciting and magical giving children a chance to act out the different characters in the story.
And I don’t mean to be insensitive, but the books in today’s school curriculum leave me wondering what behoves educators choosing the material they do. Fun with a capital “F” is how to motivate kids to get a kick out of reading and learning. COLIN DEOKI
Australia