‘There’s no place like home’ for Olympics preparation: Baber

The HSBC Sevens Series tournaments in London and Paris are being postponed, provisionally until September and Fiji Airways Fijian 7s head coach Gareth Baber is confident with the teams’ in-Island preparation program which is in place. 

Fiji Airways Fijian 7s will follow through their 7s program on-island once everything returns to normal. The program is put in place to establish our players’ competence, develop for themselves and generate their self-awareness to get better and ready for the Tokyo Olympics. 

From the gruelling training at the dunes to playing against various 7s club across the country, and using whatever resources available, the main gist of the initiative is to keep the exposer for the players ahead of the Olympics if the series will be a no show. 

Fijian 7s have a unique style of play which is derived from the early relationship between a player from a young age and the game of rugby. From playing with coconuts and bottles to some very incredible training techniques created improvising to the resources around us. This is a crucial factor that gives rise to our chaotic style of play and helps our national team excel in the 7s platform. 

How do we get the most out of this remaining time, how do we utilize our resources here in Fiji if we’ll be here for the next 6-7 months? Head coach Gareth Baber explained that the combination between being able to train and play is a big one. 

“I’m a big believer in players playing, the likes of the numbers of players we’ve got, the sevens teams we’ve got here in the country, and other resources we have, I want to see our players challenge differently” 

“I want to see them going out of their way to develop for themselves and generate their self-awareness on how to get better utilizing our options here with our 7s program, working with other coaches to see which players have the potential and putting them under pressure physically and mentally, test their rugby skills and knowledge to see how they manage it.” 

“Having that opportunity here for the next 5-6 months is something a lot of countries will want to have, its just a matter of how we’ll use it and when we will use it.” 

In the meantime, our Fijian 7s players are following through training plans provided to them and are in regular catch-ups in their social media group.