Fiji 7s struggles in Canada
THE Fiji Airways Fiji men’s team struggled to find its rhythm at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series day one in Vancouver, Canada yesterday.
It begs the question of when we can see a Fijian side play like it used to.
We may say it’s just another game, but on a shameful day in Fiji’s 7s rugby history, Uruguay claimed a 17-14 win in their pool play for the first time. Fiji has also lost its flair as individual play begins to overtake the “off-loading king” statue in 7s rugby, which it once possessed.
Uruguay is an invitational side in the tournament.
What a shocker, what an upset and a massive moment for a South American team to defeat the Olympic Games gold medallist and Rugby World Cup champion.
We may point fingers at what has transpired — last week, social media was flooded with critics of match officials — but who are we to blame now?
This season, Ben
Gollings has yet to lead his team to a title victory. It is high time for him to think about where he is headed with the Fiji 7s game, with the automatic qualification to the 2024
Paris Olympic Games still far from confirmed.
The side has put a leg in the final four, but for how long if inconsistency is the trend they are taking.
Look at Samoa, the
All Blacks 7s, Argenti- na, which have young players but play tough, clean and disciplined rugby.
We must shy away from the excuse that we have new players and give them time to adjust in the 7s arena.
They are all good players and are being plucked as the best players from Fiji, but what can be done to improve a consistentperform team.
Compared with the Ben Ryan and Gareth Baber error, Fiji was known for its unorthodox style of play with free flowing ball passing from end-to-end width of the park as players were more hungry for a win than gaining fame through individual brilliance. Individual decisions are slowly creeping in and affecting the performance of the whole team.
The management team needs to seriously teach players to improve their in-field communication, play as a team, win restarts, and make no missed tackles. What defensive pattern the side is using and are they mentally fit to take the pressure when the need arises. Fiji has always traditionally been a force with its well-drawn patterns of the game, but lately it has struggled to gain top form. Fiji struggled in the first half against Kenya but roared to a positive 31-12 win.
Against Uruguay, the Fijian side was very poor in all aspects of the game. The Tevita Daugunu-skippered side was outplayed in the kickoffs, off-loads. Indiscipline caused the side’s downfall. Josua Vakurinabili’s sinbinned resulted in Uruguay’s commanding lead despite Fiji’s try to Josese Batirerega’s try in the second half, while the first half try was scored by Pilipo Bukayaro.
Today, hopes are high for Fiji to defeat Great Britain and proceed to the later stages of the tournament; otherwise, Fijian fans will have to wait for another time.