Gareth Baber answers SOS: 'I just want Fiji to be successful'
Gareth Baber knows all about handling the massive expectations of a nation after masterminding the Fiji men’s defence of their Olympic Games sevens gold medal in Tokyo. Baber had to replicate the gold medal success of Ben Ryan’s men in Rio and now he has accepted the challenge of helping Fiji win a third successive title in Paris in just 18 weeks.
Baber, who flies to Fiji from Heathrow today, will arrive in Nadi on Monday and has been asked to use his vast sevens knowledge to support new head coach Osea Kolinisau, the former Fiji 7s captain and Olympic gold medallist from Rio, who replaced England’s Ben Golling, sacked after failing to win a leg of the HSBC SVNS during his time in charge.
The Welshman, who will work with the players and coaches, will undertake the role in two-week blocks as his family are now based back in Cardiff and accepts his arrival will raise expectations for both the men’s and women’s seven squads. He told RugbyPass: “I know that as Fiji if you don’t win every tournament then you have lost – that’s the kind of narrative and the psyche of the nation which creates a standard and expectation. The Fiji men’s squad is capable of winning gold in Paris and they could probably still do it without a coach because they have that much talent.
“This is not about sprinkling fairy dust, it is about understanding the hard, tangible elements you need to put together to be able to get those levels of performance to realise potential when it matters and in 18 weeks that is my challenge. I just want Fiji to be successful.
“Osea won a gold medal as a player and he has an understanding of what is required having gone through a tough evolution with Ben (Ryan). Osea is a strong character and growing as a coach and I have been through that process myself with Fiji and I believe that will help the men’s and women’s programmes working with Saiasi Fuli. We don’t have four years to the Games and so it is distilling down what the teams need.
“I have had mentors in my career and there are some things you don’t know as a head coach and until someone shines a light it can be something quite simple but powerful in creating that environment that is necessary to be able to play at the levels the team need to reach. That is what I will be looking to do with players, coaches, management and stakeholders. Ultimately, I am on a short turnaround – we need to get performances from somewhere. We will have to work really hard and smart to make those changes.
“It was tough for Ben (Gollings) and he did well to try and get through that process and I know the huge expectation around one-off tournaments let alone a series over multiple years.
“Coaches like myself and Ben Ryan, you come in with a reputation but that is only relevant as far as getting the wins quickly under your belt. It seems that getting consistent performances has just been out of Ben’s (Gollings) reach for many different reasons not least because there are a few teams on the world sevens circuit like Argentina, Ireland and now France with Antoine Dupont who have established consistency. To have someone like Dupont involved is good for the sevens game and it raises the profile to have a player of that quality in the tournament. Argentina and Ireland have shown what can be achieved when you have the right programme in place.
“Ben (Gollings) would have known that Fiji are always capable of winning tournaments and it is just about getting that level of consistency and I feel for him. But we take these jobs on knowing there are these challenges.”
Since guiding Fiji to that gold medal triumph in Tokyo, Baber has been part of the Edinburgh coaching set-up and is now director of rugby systems at Cardiff Metropolitan University, the rugby hotbed that produced England’s Alex Dombrandt. The university has agreed to release Baber to undertake his role with the Fiji men’s and women’s sevens as the National Programme Manager and the targets that come with the new role include a top-three finish in Madrid in the 2024 finals for the men and a top five for the women and the same rankings for the rest of the HSBC SVNS.
His first tournament in the role will be the famous Hong Kong sevens leg of the HSBC series on April 5-7, an event that has a special place in Fijian hearts and where Baber used to coach the local rugby union team. The next round is in Singapore on May 3-5 and then the new finals event in Madrid from May 31 to June 2 before Paris and Olympic title defence. Fiji’s men are third in the HSBC table while the women are seventh with the top eight in both tables going to the finals in Madrid.
The landscape in Fiji has changed since he left the islands with the Fijian Drua offering a successful Super Pacific Rugby option for young players in the country. “The Drua have been threatening to achieve these great results and they are becoming more consistent which is great,” he explained, “The challenge is that the talent from the villages that would have naturally headed to sevens a lot of that is being honed for the Drua and the Flying Fijians. Sevens has its place and is crucial to the people of Fiji and how the game evolves.
“We need to get the level of performance that means we can deliver when we get to Paris. This an 18-week challenge and I am still very involved with Cardiff Met and really enjoying that role which revolves around a high-performance system working with great people and it’s nice to work in my home city. I will be back in Cardiff after the Olympics.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Tamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
1 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
1 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
33 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
33 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
33 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to comments