'One week a lad can be farming in his village and the next he is playing in Hong Kong'
Gareth Baber is en-route to link up with his Fiji Sevens squad in London having overcome the latest set-back in a season that has tested the head coach and his players to the limit as they head into the penultimate leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens at Twickenham this weekend.
Baber was forced into hospital by a bacterial infection which meant the squad flew to London without him, but now the Welshman is recovered and able to mastermind Fiji’s attempt to overtake USA at the top of the table before the final leg in Paris. USA, who have Perry Baker back from a broken jaw, are three points ahead of Baber’s men who have dealt with a series of body blows this season, including a player charged with rape, their captain convicted of drink driving and serious injury to key play-makers.
This has all happened a year away from Fiji having to defend the Olympic Gold they won in Rio at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. That defence is complicated by 15-a-side contracts signed by key players with European teams which may make them unavailable next year.
Despite all of these distractions, Baber is confident the squad are ready to overhaul the USA with the kind of rugby that allowed them to make history with a fifth successive Hong Kong Sevens crown. Ben Ryan, who coached Fiji to Olympic gold, detailed in his book the myriad of problems Fiji can throw up which meant Baber came into the job in 2016 knowing it would be a challenging assignment.
Continue reading below…
Baber told RugbyPass: “This has been one of the most difficult seasons as head coach. There is an accountability that comes with being able to play in the white jersey and there are still distractions (for the players) and I don’t think they are going to be solved in the space of a year or so. One week a lad can be farming in his village and the next he is playing in Hong Kong and that is a huge jump for an individual both culturally and also mentally.
“Society is very different for an international athlete in Fiji. We don’t have the kind of development processes other countries have, but we are working to achieve it. It will be a generation away and similar to what Ben had, it is about making that jump from a very basic village life, where it is about survival, onto a performance level.
“There is huge expectation surrounding sevens in Fiji to be top of the tree. There is an emphasis on national identity and the feel-good factor in the country and it’s in the DNA of every Fijian. Sevens tournaments are like village fetes in Fiji and are linked with raising money for the local church and community. So, qualifying for the Olympic Games is huge to ensure you are battling for a gold medal.”
Baber can only wait to discover if players from his current squad have release clauses for the Olympic Games when they sign lucrative deals in Europe that financially change the life of so many family members back in Fiji. Former captain Kalione Nasoko, who was convicted of drink driving in February, has signed for Edinburgh, and Baber said: “Sevens has a different volume of running training and you are looking for release of a player to take part in the Sevens series next year to get them to that level.
“There is no obligation for a club to release players apart from the Olympic Games regulations and we would look to have a player for a longer period. Conversations are on-going and Kali has a great opportunity with Edinburgh but one thing that was flagged up was his possible involvement in next year’s Olympics. Discussions with Richard (Cockerill, Edinburgh head coach) will be around the potential for being released for tournaments.
“In the villages where the players grow up, life can be tough and to have a contract worth around £100,000 is life changing no only for the immediate family but also the community. There is a responsibility to put back into the community from where you have come from. There is something incredibly humbling about that.”
Fiji were pipped to the Sevens Series title by South Africa in Paris a year ago and while finishing in the top four guarantees automatic Olympic qualification, Baber and his men want the No1 ranking. “We have talked about the aftermath of last year in Paris and we have had similar experiences this year coming very close to the performances we want. We have got it right several times and when we deliver as we did in Hong Kong and to a certain extent in Singapore, we win tournaments.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Anna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
8 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to comments