'It is not something to be proud of and it's an area that we are constantly working on'
Gareth Baber has targeted fixing Fiji’s disciplinary problems after his players collected 26 yellow and two reds cards in last season’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series triumph.
Ahead of the opening leg of the new season series, which kicks off in Dubai on December 5, the Fijian boss revealed he wants to see better decision making from his players and limit the number of times they operate one man down during matches due to yellow or red card offences.
So frequently were they sanctioned that they ended the campaign tied with Tonga for the receipt of most cards during the series.
“It is not something to be proud of and it’s an area that we are constantly working on,” said Baber to RugbyPass. “You reflect on those yellows with the players and a lot of them came at crucial times under pressure.
“The natural way the game is played here in Fiji and how the boys have grown up means we have to educate them about how important it is to keep their discipline.
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“What makes it difficult is that I see sevens being refereed differently from 15s and I had several conversations with the boys after the World Cup in Japan.
“They sat there watching the matches and were confused by some of the decisions given in 15s. We have to adapt to the referees in sevens to be able to create pressure.”
Celebrating the 50th year of sevens on Dubai, Fiji open their title defence against pool opponents France, Argentina and Japan in a series that has even more importance this season as the Olympic Games sevens in Tokyo next year makes it an eleven-leg campaign.
ICYMI:
“I’d turned up to the first day of pre-season and everyone’s having all their training kit handed out. My kit wasn’t there."https://t.co/05fnjO2dq2
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 21, 2019
Fiji are also the defending Olympic champions, having collected their nation’s first-ever medal at the Rio Games, defeating Britain in the 2016 final.
Paula Dranisinukula will captain the side in Dubai having recovered from a fractured leg and he lines up alongside Aminiasi Tuimaba, Vilimoni Botitu and Ratu Meli Derenalagi who each made significant strides in their first HSBC World Sevens Series last season.
Fiji will not be able to call upon the skills of Kalione Nasoko, their former captain, until March or April as he is still recovering from knee reconstruction surgery and is following a carefully planned rehabilitation programme.
Fiji will bring all the power to the desert.
Don't miss them at the #Dubai7s on 5-7 December. pic.twitter.com/UqizChoh0H
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) November 22, 2019
With Fiji set to defend their Cape Town title a week after the Dubai opener, Baber added: “We want to make a fast start in Dubai but we know all of the teams have been doing their work in the off-season and can surprise you.
“We have done a huge amount of planning to put everything in place with the Olympic Games being the eleventh tournament.”
Fiji Sevens squad (Dubai and Cape Town)
Sevuloni Mocenacagi, Josua Vakurunabili, Isoa Tabu, Apenisa Cakaubalavu, Paula Dranisinukula (capt), Ratu Meli Derenalagi, Vilimoni Botitu, Waisea Nacuqu, Jerry Tuwai, Alasio Naduva, Aminiasi Tuimaba, Napolioni Bolaca, Kavekini Tabu, Terio Tamani.
WATCH: Nadolo, the compelling RugbyPass documentary on Fijian legend Nemani Nadolo
Comments on RugbyPass
How on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
2 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
2 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to comments