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Olympic gold medallist slams current Fiji 7s side
By Chris Jones
Former Fiji 7s star Vatemo Ravouvou has claimed the current squad competing in the men’s HSBC SVNS Series are undermining their cause because individuals want “to be the star” instead of working for the team.
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The Fiji 7s 2016 Olympic gold medallist in Rio made his comments following the opening legs of the HSBC SVNS Series in Dubai and Cape Town. Fiji finished third in Cape Town but this has not stopped critics focussing on the team and the record of Ben Gollings, the head coach. However, Ravouvou told the Fiji Times that coaching was not the problem and called on the players to work together rather than look for personal glory.
He said: “All the teams are beating Fiji now and there is no combination in the team, especially from the forwards and backline. They have to be aggressive. All I can see from the Dubai 7s and even in the Cape Town 7s, is that there is too much individual play and everyone wants to be the star.
“We need good line breakers and the support arrives too late. This was the second tournament and the boys have to look back on what all went wrong. They have to give their best shot and not only play for themselves but for their families and their country. The coaching is good but the boys have to perform.”
Fiji arrived at Cape Town having finished fourth in Dubai 7s, losing the bronze medal playoff match 12-17 against New Zealand. They collected the bronze medal in Cape Town beating Ireland 14-7.
However, Fiji had struggled to beat France in a golden point sudden death in the cup quarters, even though the French were reduced to five men with two yellow cards. Fiji eventually lost 7-24 in the Cape Town semi-final match against Australia. Fiji currently stand in third place in the men’s table, eight points behind leaders Argentina with the next tournament being staged in Perth on 26-28 January.
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The writer here ignores the fact that, following on from not taking the penalty kick, the All Blacks did manage to score a try a few minutes later. Not directly from the penalty awarded, but it is speculation to say that had they opted to take the koi they would have won. Even if they kicked it, which was no guarantee, they would still be trailing and would have had to start again at half-way.
Go to commentsI would be surprised if Sales Opoku Fordjour and Northampton’s Tommy Freeman are not in the team, Anthony Watson is also one that could go on the wing. One thing I must say is that the front 3 will get destroyed against a team like South Africa.
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