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Fiji name new 7s captain after Edinburgh bound Nasoko ruled out

Fiji Sevens captain Kalione Nasoko

Fiji Sevens Coach Gareth Baber has been robbed by injury of captain Kalione Nasoko who will miss the defence of the HSBC Hong Kong Sevens title and the tournament in Singapore.

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As a result of Nasoko’s knee injury, which he suffered in Vancouver, the squad will be captained by Paula Dranisinukula and includes Police 7s skipper Livai Ikanikoda and Napolioni Ratu. For Ikanikoda, selection means a return to the national team for the first time since 2011.

The loss of Nasoko, who is waiting to learn what sentence he will receive for a drink driving offence on Friday, is a significant one given that Fiji have won the Hong Kong title four times in a row but have not found the consistency this season that Baber knows will be needed in a very tough pool.

Nasoko has agreed to join Edinburgh next season where his power running will feature on the wing for the Guinness Pro 14 outfit and Baber said: “Kali has had the chance to go to Edinburgh and this is a great opportunity for him and is family.

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We wish him luck and I know what life is like in Great Britain and it is will be a little colder than in Fiji! We have some injuries in the squad and Kali won’t get to Hong Kong and Singapore. We will fly to Hong Kong on Thursday and then recover from the 10-hour flight and will play against Hong Kong on Saturday.

“As we get into the week at our Hong Kong base will take on another team on Tuesday leading into the tournament. There may be a couple of new players involved and they are going to need that time to get to understand our systems. “

FRU Chief Executive John O’Connor said “Nasoko was working closely with the Union to pursue an overseas contract with the Scotland based side. Nasoko has been one of the hardest working members in the Fiji Airways Fijian 7s side and has grown over the years since his debut in 2016.

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Fiji are in the same pool in Hong Kong as New Zealand, Australia and Kenya.

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Mzilikazi 35 minutes ago
How Dupont-less France tossed a grenade into Ireland's Grand Slam celebrations

This performance from Ireland does not surprise me. Go back to the Emgland game last year, and the way Ireland played there. Some poor defence, especially at the death, allowing the Smith drop goal, which was from an virtually .unmissable position.


Then the AB loss in the autumn, when Ireland played as poorly as I have seen this current group play. I agree with you, Nick, when you cite the falloff in attacking/try scoring ability which started with the Lancaster / Nienaber transition.


The loss of injured players is also a factor, but I would only mention it in passing, not overplay that one. After all, France were missing their first choice centre pairing.


The Prendergast v Crowley debate. I have been in the “Crowley to start” camp from the get go, and for this game specially, I feel that strategically Crowley should have started. The Munster man just has that bit more to his game, that bit more toughness and variation. I would suspect the French coaching group were delighted to be looking at how they played the Irish staring 10 for this game.


Prendergast is a supreme passer of the ball, and ultra cool and balanced, probably the better goal kicker. But in that first half(as far as I have got in the game so far), he was caught twice in possession, once really bulldozed back by the French forwards. In addition, he made some poor kicking choices, and only once took the line on. He was too easy to read, never a line breaking threat. I have read he played out the full 80 at 10. That leaves me seething. The Irish coaching group repeating the mistake made in the RWC QF in France, with Crowley again not used to advantage.

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S
SK 1 hour ago
How Dupont-less France tossed a grenade into Ireland's Grand Slam celebrations

I think France have made really good improvements. They have found several players on the bench and in the wider squad who are able to now operate at the level of their starters, they have power and devastation on the bench and can change the game. Their gameplan has also evolved and they are able to stay in the fight for longer. Fitness and conditioning seems to have become primary work ons. They have worked massively on breakdown where they forced so many turnovers and always slowed down Irelands ball. How many times did you see a French hand on the ball fighting the first and second cleaner tooth and nail for access before being shoved off of it? They become like a pack of rabid dogs on turnover and transitions, they counter so much better now and you can see elements of the Bordeaux and Toulouse game written all over the team. Its almost like a swarm when they counter. They have great alignment between the Top 14 and the national team and they have a group of players who are well versed in playing this style. You could see clearly in this game why both Galthie and Erasmus now fancy a 7-1 stack against Ireland. It is by and large to overpower them and demolish their breakdown. Irelands attack has devolved. Its now more metronomic than creative. It involves phase after phase of attritional attack and hordes of possession but it lacks creativity and purpose after the second or third phase. The Ireland attack of old kept teams guessing. You didnt know if they were gonna go wide or close in, you had to worry about the offload, the inside pass, the blindside and the hooker on the wing. Now it seems like they move the ball side to side while patiently waiting for the dam wall to break. They also lack pace and bite in the outside channels without Hansen and Lowe. Nash and Osborne were not on it and they struggled to contain the outside French backs who were incredible. France had more leaders that stood up, more grit and more power and it all proved too much for Ireland to handle.

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