Nasove double defensive effort
Police Blue forward and Fiji 7s squad member Rusiate Nasova was out to prove head coach Gareth Baber wrong. According to Nasove he was dropped by Baber because he needed to improve on his defence. During the knockout stages of the Fiji Bitter Sapphire 7s tournament yesterday, he impressed fans with his defensive efforts.
In their elimination game in which they beat Hydro 19-0, Nasove made 15 tackles, won 8 turnovers, five assists and scored a try. In the process he made two trysaving tackles that won the game for Police that made them to proceed to the Cup quarterfinals. Speaking to SUNsports he said he will continue to work hard on the areas raised by Baber.
“The news challenged me to work on my defence and I’ve made a vow to myself that will not miss any tackles,” he said.
“Sometimes comments as such motivate you to become better and sharp in every game.
“All I need to do now is to double the effort and practice tackling to improve my defence.”
Nasove added that tackling in 15s rugby is different from sevens game
“In 7s rugby we always try and align on the inside shoulder of the attacker so they can only run to one side. If you get this wrong and a player sidesteps you it is difficult for another player to cover for you,” he said.
“Nobody wants to miss a tackle, and defence coaches hate when you do. However it is harder for your teammates to cover when someone missed a tackle in sevens.
“I believe I should work very hard on these areas so I can be selected.”
Elimination results: Island Life USA Raiwasa Taveuni 15-7 Uluinakau, Blue Diamond 14-7 Baravi
Brothers, Fire 26-7 Sydney Bukuya, Fiji Shadow 14-10 Wardens Gold, Ratu Filise 24-19 LAR Barbarians, Police Blue 19-0 Hydro, Tabadamu 12 – 5 Kavala.
Cup quarters: Island Life USA Raiwasa 17-5 Blue Diamond, Fiji Shadow 24-0 Fire, Police Blue 10-5 Ratu Filise, Army Green 12- 17 Tabadamu.
Cup Semifinals: Island Life USA Raiwasa Taveuni 12-14 Fiji Shadow, Police Blue 7-10 Tabadamu
Plate: Army 17-0 Blue Diamonds
Bowl: Ratu Filise 14-0 Fire Rugby
Shield: Uluinakau 14-24 Life After Rugby
3rd/4th: Island Life USA Raiwasa 14-5 Police Blue
Final: Fiji Shadow 31-14 Tabadamu
U21: Ravuka Sharks 12-10 Dominion Bothers
Womens: Police Blue Diamonds
17-5 Seahawks