Semi Radradra is a 'marked man'
Semi Radradra is a “marked man” but Fiji Sevens head coach Gareth Baber is backing the Bristol centre to play a key role in the defence of the Olympic Games gold medal in Japan after he linked up with his team mates who arrived on a freight flight hauling mostly frozen fish.
Radradra travelled from London while the rest of the players flew from Australia to Fiji and then onto Japan with the final destination their training camp in Oita. Lorraine Mar, the chief executive of the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee, said that arranging travel for the Fiji team to Tokyo had been a “logistical challenge”. Mar told AP around 51 athletes and officials, mostly the Fiji men’s and women’s sevens squad, were travelling from Nadi on a regularly-scheduled freight flight which has some capacity for passengers.
The Fiji teams were originally expected to fly directly from Australia to Tokyo, but plans were changed at the last minute due to new COVID-19-related restrictions in Asia.
Radradra has been following is own fitness regime with Bristol’s conditioning staff and quarantine restrictions have meant he has not taken part in any sevens training sessions until this point with his teammates with the whole squad moving to Tokyo on July 22 for the Games.
However, the 29-year-old did play for a Fijian invitation side in the super sevens tournament in Newbury last weekend and while that is some way from the standard of competition Radradra will face in Tokyo, Baber believes the former Flying Fijian captain’s exceptional talents made him a unique case for selection.
Baber said: “Semi is marked man and has played a lot of rugby but has been well looked after by Bristol and is a big investment for them. We know that wherever we go we have a target on our backs and have to put it all together to defend the gold medal.
“We would have had Semi in Australia but we couldn’t because he would have faced two weeks quarantine and so we targeted him going straight to Japan.
“Semi is a very humble individual and a superb athlete and it will be great for the younger guys to be around him and understand what it takes to be an international rugby player. You wouldn’t do this with many players but someone of Semi’s capabilities means you have to look at it.
“Semi has been working with the Bristol conditioning coaches and has had a full season in England. He is healthy and has been training in Bristol and he has done this before. He is a player who played in the World Series previously with just one week preparation.
“I have had conversations with Semi all along and if we had opportunities in the HSBC World Series he would have come in with us before this stage.
“When this (Olympic cycle) started it was explained to everyone that there were potential players coming in from Europe and it’s happened before. Originally, we thought we would get four or five tournaments to prepare the team for Tokyo and it is a tough gig for anyone.
“A number of the young players in our squad have not met Semi before and he has particular skills set and behaviours that are influential within the group and beneficial to the team. I enjoy working with him and I can only see benefits for having him with us.
“This is international rugby and we have a lot of inexperience players and its important you have players who have performed at that standard and Semi has played in a World Cup in Japan and has a strong sevens background.”
Baber has taken heart from the victories over New Zealand and Australia at the Oceania tournament – their only warm up event before the Olympic Games.“The reality is that no team has the build-up they really wanted and without the Series you are on a shorter runway anyway.
“The intensity of the games and the physicality we brought to it in Australia was good but there are work ons and you have to be careful you don’t get carried away and objectively see what we have to do to progress. We know that every team is positioning themselves to get a lift before Tokyo.
“The players dealt with quarantine in Australia and then came out in Townsville and put it together which was very satisfying. In the next two weeks we will try and build on that and some. We won’t be playing any games before the Olympics start and so Townsville was our only tournament.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
8 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
8 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
8 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
8 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, 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 comments