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Fiji's bid to retain Olympic gold has received a funding boost

By Chris Jones
Fiji players gather together before their match against France at the HCSB Sevens on June 2 in Paris (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images for HSBC)

Fiji’s bid for another sevens gold medal triumph at the Tokyo Olympics next year has received an Fj$2.1m (£770,000) funding boost from their government to allow head coach Gareth Baber to build on their 2019 HSBC World Rugby Series Sevens title triumph.

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The funds – which stem from the annual budget – will also be shared with the women’s sevens, who have yet to qualify for the Olympics. According to the Fiji Times report, it will also help Fiji to improve contracts for the players and management to help ward off raids from European and Japanese clubs.

Baber said: “There is a rise in financial support and the money has come in 14 months before the Olympics. As was shown when Fiji won gold in Rio, it’s a huge strategic thing for the country as a whole.”

The HSBC series-winning sevens squad is currently enjoying a month-long break, with the players ordered by Fiji Rugby Union chief executive John O’Connor not to accept invitations to play 15s rugby during this period.

Memories of that gold medal triumph in Rio in 2016 will be rekindled next week when Bordeaux centre Semi Radradra sponsors a sevens tournament in his name and leads a team made up of star names. 

They will play as the Eiffel Ruggers, as the players are now based in France, and the team includes Radradra, Olympic medallist Josua Tuisova (Toulon), his brother Filipo Nakosi (Castres) and prop Peni Ravai (Bordeaux), who are members of Fiji’s Rugby World Cup training squad preparing for Japan, plus former Wallaby Eto Nabuli.

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Baber is committed to broadening the player base for his sevens squad in Fiji, but is also looking to use European talent to defend the Olympic title. 

He said: “A lot has been said about European-based players and I will continue to look at them, but there is a reality about the conditioning base of a sevens and 15s player. What I’m blessed with in Fiji is that every player who has ended up playing in Europe has a background in sevens. 

“That means their ability to move between the two is a lot better than other players around the world. Guys like Leone Nakarawa (Racing) and Viliame Mata (Edinburgh) can do it quickly. One of the things I wanted when I came to Fiji was to build on what had already been achieved while also creating systems in the sevens programmes that mean whoever takes over from me will move that on again. 

“That is my responsibility, which includes creating the next group of players for the future of sevens rugby in Fiji. There will be four or five weeks of recovery for the players who took part in the series and then back into training, but alongside that is the development of players who will play in Germany, the Oceania tournament and the Pacific Games in early July.

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“This block of four or five months is crucial in the training and physical development of the players who are in the hot seats preparing for the next World Rugby Sevens Series and the Olympic Games. Of course, at the moment it is key that everyone gets some rest and spends time with family, but always sitting there is what’s coming next to get to where we want to become 2020 in Tokyo.”

Welshman Baber admits to some concern over how much damage the Fiji 15s team under head coach John McKee will be able to achieve at the Rugby World Cup where they are in the same pool as Wales and Australia.

Baber added: “John has a got a good group of seasoned internationals who can cause some upsets in the World Cup and I can see them pushing for a quarter-final place. I’m always keen to learn off other coaches and see if there is something from their culture, technical and tactical approach I can use moving forward with our squad.

“A team that can gain momentum in a Rugby World Cup can push into the latter stages and Warren Gatland and his Wales coaching staff are shrewd and will be aware of the game Fiji can play and will have done their research. 

“What they cannot observe is what the Fiji squad is like when it comes together for training camps and I know Warren will have a very good idea of how he wants to play that game, but the great unknown is what Fiji can come up with. I would suggest that the first choice Fiji back line would be the highest paid in the world.”

WATCH: Part one of the two-part RugbyPass documentary on what the fans can expect in Japan at this year’s World Cup 

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Jon 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 5 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

25 Go to comments
A
Adrian 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

25 Go to comments
T
Trevor 10 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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