WATCH DIET
‘Players face a huge challenge in terms of food intake.’
Waisale Serevi says players nowadays are fortunate that they have been made aware on the importance of having a proper diet.And the sevens legend warned that this could be an obstacle for Fiji Airways Fijian 7s coach Gareth Baber’s men if not properly monitored building up to the World Sevens Series and the Tokyo Olympic Games next year
Serevi said with the halt in competitions and games due to COVID-19 and the Olympic Games scheduled for next year, players face a huge challenge in terms of food intake.
“Most Fijian players nowadays are lucky to have been taught about nutrition which is an advantage to coach Baber when the team returns to camp,”Serevi said.
“But monitoring the players in camp will be tough if the players fail to follow the coaching staff nutrition programme.”
He said this could be the hidden factor in Fiji’s inconsistent performance during the World Sevens Series.
Serevi made the revelation during a questions and answers (Q&A) session with 2019 Rio Olympics gold medal winning 7s coach Ben Ryan.
“We didn’t learn about nutrition as to how much we should eat or drink as 7s players during our time,”Serevi said.
“For me when I was young and trained myself to get fitter.
“In Fiji all rugby players know that we have tea and bread for breakfast and lunch so we only have one meal in the evening. “I don’t know whether that is good for rugby or not but we survived and made it to the top in the rugby world.”
Argentina Experience
Serevi tells of an experience on the difference on how they eat when they play in Argentina.
“In Argentina they have four to five courses during a meal but we had six,”Serevi said.
“The bread was so warm and delicious and everyone just went for it.
“Even before two more courses where steak would be served, everyone went out waving their shirts up and down because they had a full tummy and couldn’t eat anymore.
“Our coach the late Epeli Lagiloa told us that we ate like people that survived a hurricane or rescued from a shipwreck.”
He said players and coaches should take cue for what Ryan did by monitoring what players eat on and off the field.
Ryan’s method proved to be a weapon besides the speed, power and skills added to our players in 2016 where big players like Leone Nakarawa, Semi Kunatani and Viliame Mata moved very fast.