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The blunt Baber verdict on fifth place Fiji's conditioning levels
Gareth Baber didn’t pull his punches on Sunday in Hong Kong when reflecting on his first sevens tournament back involved with Fiji after the recent sacking of Ben Gollings. The Welshman was at the helm when the Fijians successfully defended their gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
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However, while he had a lengthy preparation to make that retention mission successful in 2021, he has just 16 weeks remaining to pull the strings in support of new head coach Osea Kolinisau if Fiji are to top the podium in Paris at the end of July.
It’s a tall order. The Islanders might have looked powerful in putting South Africa to the sword by a 33-14 margin in their final match this weekend in the Far East, but it was merely a fifth-place play-off.
The reality wasn’t lost on Baber when he spoke to RugbyPass in the stadium tunnel decorated with pictures of golden Fijian teams celebrating previous Hong Kong title wins.
“Frustrating,” he said when asked to summarise his first event back with a Fijian squad that had struggled this season under Gollings, finishing third in Cape Town, fourth in Dubai and Perth and sixth in Vancouver and Los Angeles.
Record-breaker ???
Waisea Nacuqu becomes Fiji's all-time top try-scorer!#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSHKG pic.twitter.com/u0c0C3gHR6
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) April 7, 2024
Collectively that is good enough for them to be running third on the HSBC SVNS table with one leg remaining in Singapore before the season-ending finale in Madrid, but winning titles is what Fiji are about – not finishing their match schedule in places like Hong Kong at 3:15pm, nearly four hours before the cup final took place between New Zealand and France.
“It’s lovely to be back involved but I want to be in the position six o’clock tonight where you are going out to play another game. We’re not there and we need to work harder.
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“Our focus is about developing our levels through the next two tournaments but obviously back home in training in Fiji for the purposes of getting to an Olympics and winning another gold.
“That’s what the country demands, that’s what the expectation is on these players and we recognise there is some work to be done in terms of our conditioning levels and obviously stopping the opposition from having the best of their pressure in the game and we have got to do that through what we bring to it so yeah, we have some stuff to work on.
“It was a good finish (against South Africa) but we recognise there is a lot of work that needs to be done to put yourself in those top four spots and push through to finals, that is where we are used to being – especially here in Hong Kong – and we have got some work to do be at that. It’s nice to get in those positions and win the final game, but ultimately our goal is to be in that finals play-off.”
What scuppered Fiji’s hopes of winning the Hong Kong title for the first time since 2019 was their second-half quarter-final display on Saturday night against the eventual winners New Zealand.
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They had fought back from an early concession to lead 12-7 at the interval, but the pressure told in the second period as the Kiwis broke Fijian hearts with two tries in the closing moments, the second coming in the last minute of the 12-19 defeat.
“We know how tight the margins are, we know that. It’s not a secret in sevens,” reflected Baber. “The ball is only on the field for six and a bit minutes and you have got to make the most of it. I thought that quarter-final we controlled the game for the majority of it.
“However it can break you in the space of a minute, a minute and a half and that is exactly what New Zealand are like. They threatened and they deserved that victory in the end. We have got to do more to be able to be in positions in games to be able to close them out.
“They stuck in there. They made fewer errors than we did in the second half. First half they made more errors, but they just had a good, strong understanding of how they were going to win the game.”
That’s an understanding that Fiji will work on over the next few weeks to ensure they are prepared to do better in Singapore on May 3-5.
Comments on RugbyPass
The problem is the officiating & changing rulings,& TMOs.Last weekend I saw a 9 penalized for a crooked scrum feed! the last time I saw that rule applied was In about 1975!!!!!!!!.Late or not the incident is history & Australians alleging that Kiwi rugby supporters wear eye patches is a bit rich.Try listening to Australian Commentators.Every new player who has an above average game is suddenly the next great sensation.
19 Go to commentsEvery Irish fan in the stadium celebrated like they had won the tournament after the SA and Scotland games so yeah, the way Etzebeth tells it stacks up. It was definitely ‘In Their Heads’!
53 Go to commentsEtsebeth is right about 1 thing. Boks after winning a RWC have been crap. Only in 2009 did they reach the heights of what a RWC Champion should look like but that was only after 3rd/last in the TriN 2008. Lost a home series in 1996 (vs ABs); didnt win even 1 x Rugby Championship after 2019. ABs and Wallabies and England at least played like Champions after winning RWC.
53 Go to commentsCrusaders will knock one of the top seeds out in the first round, hope it’s not my Chiefs
27 Go to commentsEben really seems like just a deeply unpleasant man.
53 Go to commentsDMac. BB crabs too much at 10.
2 Go to commentsIt is every boys dream to be a Springbok. I managed it in a discipline other than rugby…But rugby, I have always engaged with passion. It does my old heart good to see the mix of people in the team and this displays the possibilities for this wonderful country. The logo “stronger together” says it all. This current edition of the Boks is nothing short of inspirational.
3 Go to commentsIrish people about the best damn people on the planet. OK, in the NH. Fijians are the World’s best happiest friendliest people. But as far as European cultures producing good people, Ireland stands alone. But on the rugby pitch there is a creeping arrogance that has detached from humility. eg Sexton abusing a match referee, and not for the 1st time. He was extremely lucky to make it to the RWC, strings were pulled. And O’Mahoneys sledge to Cane was lowballing, attacking an opposition Captain seems opportunistic and gutter talk. Cane is a real gentleman. Have never seen ABs unleash after the whistle like they did on O’Mahoney after QterF, it was well deserved. Unlike Bok supporters, the Bok players understand history. Massive amount of respect between Boks and ABs is evident, they get on well and have throughout history. Even Pinetree Meads best mate (except his old cobber Kel Tremain) were Springboks, friendships forged after tours. And Meads was always targetted given his star status (he even played 2 x Tests with a broken arm). On the contrary, ABs and Wallabies famously dont get on, bad blood after Aussies not taking offer of beersies postmatch.
53 Go to commentsHaha god NZ journalism is so crap listen to this guy “We’ll be proven in a few weeks if our baseless bs can stick” lol Everywhere else uses experts to write stuff but here they’re just career guys that don’t care about what they write, NOT CONCEDED A TRY IN YEARS lol > “Naturally, you’re looking for performance, sometimes that means you can’t think logically or use evidence to arrive at any sort of clarity of decision. Pretty much sums it up to a tee Paul ignores the articles in here about then runs off each team this year, that Penney is just a yearly stop gap until, who, Ellison is released by ABs, the huge imbalance of the injury front between teams at each end of the table, or who it was that _should_ have been coach. But of course if they actually do evidence and investigative work theyre shy of their article not hitting that sensationalism boundary and lose revenue. Leaving us non the wiser. They look like they would have been best with a geeup coach this year to turn around the razorless depression the clubs obviously going through. Hard to think of someone fitting the Bill to have been chosen instead, the clown Cheika? Id have been tempted to double play and entice O’Gara down. Hell maybe that is who they are waiting for, he wants a international gig and it could be after Scmidt or razor
27 Go to comments_Dan Carter weighs in on who should be Scott Robertson's All Black 10_ Dan: “It’s a toss up between Beudy and Dmac, although Mounga would be nice - but he can’t… so…” The Rugby Public: “Thanks Dan. For nuthin!”
2 Go to commentsEngland did this way back for the Croke Park match in the 2000’s. The shame actually seemed to weigh on them during the match. It will not be easy for Northhampton players to rationalize how their army went into a stadium of a major city of the then United Kingdom and opened fire indiscriminantly into terraces killed 14 and wounding scores. I am sure with a pro setup they will get this balance right. I live beside the stadium. A very old woman on the street remembers as a very young girl the crowds of people filling the street to escape the massacre. A lot of water under the bridge and the match has really little historical relevance for Irish/Leinster supporters any more. Those ghosts were freed in the trashing of England in the 2000’s match. Sure, it will motivate Leinster but Northhampton should not overly consider it or weigh on it in my opinion. Dowson is right to learn the historical importance and Northhampton are indeed giving the occasion due respect. It is important to show respect. But that’s enough for Northhampton. Fair play to them. On to the rugby now.
16 Go to commentsDouble World Cup Champions ? Wow since when did 4 become 2!
212 Go to comments“See you in the final” from a winning (Irish) team is just away of wishing a team well for the rest of the tournament. It’s actually saying I hope we both make it to the final. Etzebeth was the only player who PUBLICLY said that his team would make the final after that match. Does anyone honestly think Ireland who took 100 years to beat NZ and got hammerred by them in 2019 would for the slightest moment not take the perilous threat as seriously as it should be taken? Getting sick of Boks and Kiwis who spend all year every year trying boasting about how great and humble they are and then accusing others of arrogance. Respect people by trying to understand them before hitting a pretty humble people with this crap.
53 Go to commentsThe feelings of gratitude I feel when thinking about the Boks is difficult to describe. It really means a lot to people here. I would flat out ask Ox for a big hug if I met him in person. And then probably pass out after the squeeze. Totally worth it.
3 Go to commentsFarrell seems to be an outstanding coach and Ireland a very well prepared team. But they looked like they had no plan B against NZ. Maybe they really were looking past them, as Eben says.
53 Go to commentsMaybe if you come once in your life in France you won’t writte so much nonsense 🙃
1 Go to commentsWhy did they kill 14 people at a gaelic football match? What had happened earlier that day? Dowson sounds absolutely pathetic, believing what the Irish say about his people, rather than believing what his people say about the Irish.
16 Go to commentsI haven't really experienced the Irish as arrogant but I guess the players maybe got ahead of themselves after a big win. Just thought it being Ireland and their love afair with WC QF exits and it being the ABs maybe they would have taken it a bit more seriously. Maybe they did and just lost anyways, who knows.
53 Go to commentsNot surprising, they tend to get very carried away with themselves very quickly. I’ve never seen a team so devastated at the final whistle than those irish players in that QF, you’d think they had lost the final.
53 Go to commentsJust a roundabout way of claiming to great fun. Self -praise is no praise, frenchie.
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