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Pressure mounts on Gollings with New Zealand legend linked with Fiji
By Chris Jones
Ben Gollings’ position as head coach of Fiji men’s sevens continues to attract speculation after he failed to deliver the title at the Perth leg of the HSBC SVNS, with veteran New Zealand sevens coach Sir Gordon Tietjens emerging as a possible option.
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Fiji finished fourth in a competition won by the impressive Argentina sevens squad but remain second in the overall table behind the South Americans, although they are on the same points as third place Australia. Argentina won their second event of the HSBC SVNS 2024 campaign, beating Australia in the Perth final with Ireland finishing third after winning 24-7 against an ill-disciplined Fiji.
With the defence of Fiji’s Olympic gold medal looming in Paris in the summer, concerns over Gollings’ ability to replicate the medal glory achieved by Ben Ryan as head coach in 2016 and Gareth Baber in Tokyo remain in the rugby mad nation.
There is now speculation that Tietjens is a possible option to either support or replace Gollings ahead of the Olympic campaign. Fiji Rugby Union Interim Administrator, Simione Valenitabua refused to comment when asked about the speculation of talks with Tietjens when quizzed by Fijivillage News.
Valenitabua confirmed the trustees, the General Manager High Performance and the Manager High Performance for Women meet with the coaching team and players of the Fijian sevens and Fijiana sevens after each tournament. They are currently waiting for the team to return and for coach Gollings to return later in the week to go over the Perth SVNS performance.
Fiji Rugby Chairman Peter Mazey has confirmed that any decisions regarding the coaching staff of the national sevens team would only be made after thorough discussions with all parties including players and support staff.
Mazey says the Fiji Rugby Union remains fully committed to supporting its current coaching staff and players, fostering a positive environment for all our national teams.
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Fiji men’s sevens are in Pool A at the Vancouver SVNS alongside Argentina, Canada and Spain being held in Vancouver from the 23 – 25 February.