Where’s Tomasi Cama Snr?
That’s the question Fijian rugby fans are asking after the disappointing performance of the Fiji Airways Fijian 7s team in Hamilton, New Zealand, last weekend.
This is continued on from the Dubai and Cape Town tournaments.
Tomasi Cama Snr, the national 7s legend was brought into the Fiji Airways Fijian 7s team in April, last year, to mentor the players and help them understand the importance of discipline.
Cama’s influence on the players was one of the contributing factors to them winning the 2018/19 World Sevens Series.
His appointment was spearheaded by Fiji Rugby Union board chairman Francis Kean and chief executive officer John O’Connor, which was endorsed by the board. This was done after they had consulted head coach Gareth Baber. O’Connor is an article published by the Fiji SUN on April 10, 2019, stated that Cama was going to accompany the team throughout the series and right to the Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan.
But it was NOT to be.
Cama was nowhere to be seen in Hamilton, last weekend.
After the Fijian 7s team’s repeated failure to make it out of pool play last Sunday, former national 7s selector and Naitasiri coach Sailosi Naiteqe (Snr) took to his Facebook page questioning the absence of Cama and the involvement of assistant coach Brad Harris. He claimed the Australian had no experience in sevens rugby.
Harris was the former forwards coach of Georgia, technical advisor of the Fiji Airways Fijian Drua and the Swire Shipping Fijian Latui. He also coached NSW Country Eagles and UC Vikings in the Australian National Rugby Championship.
CLEAR THE ROT
Naiteqe highlighted that strength and conditioning coach Naca Cawanibuka and physiotherapist William Kwong had more 7s experience, since they were part of the team that won the 2016 Olympic Games gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
But however, we still want to know why Cama was not with the team?
Again, questions are still being asked.
Was there a fallout between Cama and the team management, which led to his omission and how did the players felt about it as they look up to the man.
This needs to be sorted out along with other pressing issues before our players take the field in Sydney, this weekend.
Already, we are in a tough pool where we face series leaders New Zealand, much-improved Kenya and the unpredictable Welsh side. No amount of praying is going to help our cause until we decide to take action and clear the existing rot.