Gareth syndrome

Dr Sushil Sharma, Lautoka

The Vodafone Fijian 7s team is suffering from two syndromes; the first called the “Gareth syndrome” and the second the “Gold syndrome”.

The Gold syndrome is an affliction whereby our boys are still in Rio – dreaming and celebrating – and have failed to come down to earth, from the nostalgic adrenaline rush and high of the greatest triumph on earth for a small nation.

The Gareth syndrome – is an affliction with successive Gareth losses despite trying hard. However, one tries, at the end of the day there is nothing to show for it. This syndrome can also be called the Gareth jinx.

We know that Gareth Baber has failed to deliver so far and this shameful run of unprecedented losses can have no other explanation. Under his leadership, our team is barely making it through to pool play and we are supposed to be the role model for the world, as ambassadors of the code which Ryan has quite aptly said is a global “brand”.

Of course we know that no one will be able to fill the boots of Ryan. We are not asking Gareth to do that, as Gareth is no Ryan and never will be – but he should at least show a semblance of respectability on the part of our Fijian team, as he is the coach who has to take the blame or the axe.

It appears as if our players suddenly have lead in their boots – they are hypnotised suddenly, lethargic as if they are on our local “weed” and become erratic, nervous, and forget where they are in the field, and the purpose of their visit to the rugby arena. Minnows like Samoa and Scotland give them a lesson in rugby. This is shameful indeed for us to watch and it did spoil our Mother’s Day celebrations back home in Fiji, as many of us simply went to sleep without our lovely dinner, as soon as our golden boys had lost to Scotland by 0-24. Fiji was comprehensively outplayed in every single department and was an embarrassment to watch.

I say clearly and categorically that we should cut all our affiliation with Gareth Baber if we are to compete as the golden boys, showcasing our Fijian brand of rugby. So far we have just got mud on ours faces and fairly soon, people will not even care, when we run into the arena for the next match. Let us not wait for that day!