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O'Connor calls for patience as Gollings heads to Fiji as the new sevens head coach

Fiji lift the Sydney Sevens (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

Fiji Rugby Union chief executive John O’Connor has asked for patience from the country’s rugby fans following the appointment of former England sevens star Ben Gollings as the new head coach of the Olympic Games gold medal winning sevens team.

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Gollings is the third successive overseas coach to hold the position with the previous two – Ben Ryan and Gareth Baber – having guided the squad to gold medal success at the Olympic Games in Rio and Japan.

O’Connor told The Fiji Times that most of the applicants for the head coach job were expatriates and said: “About 30 applicants were received and mostly expatriates. We shortlisted seven and from the FRU’s point of view, we appointed the person on merit and being the best person for the job based on the outcome of the interview and so forth.”

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Sean Edwards on French

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Sean Edwards on French

Ryan and Baber are World Rugby Level 3, sevens coaches while in Fiji, local coaches Saiasi Fuli, Timoci Volavola and Apenisa Nasilasila have WR and FRU Level 2, sevens coach accreditation.

Gollings is on his way to Fiji to take up his role and O’Connor said: “We thank all the supporters for their support. This is about the learnings as we move on. We thank those who make comments and criticise the team because that makes us stronger. At times it is motivation for the players to prove themselves.

“These players are human beings and they are the ones who are demoralised when the team loses.It is them who are out on the field. We have a young team, but we have senior players such as Jerry Tuwai, who continue to encourage the younger players.

“Jerry will make the big difference with the young players. He will be available for the next two series.mWe ask the public to be patient, especially for the men’s sevens team.

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“We know the players will learn and become better players in the next leg.”

The Fiji sevens team’s next targets are the Commonwealth Games and the Rugby World Cup Sevens titles.

 

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S
SK 22 minutes ago
What is the future of rugby in 2025?

Set pieces are important and the way teams use them is a great indication of how they play the game. No team is showcasing their revolution more than the Springboks. This year they have mauled less and primarily in the attacking third. Otherwise they have tended to set like they are going to maul and then play around the corner or shove the ball out the back. They arent also hitting the crash ball carrier constantly but instead they are choosing to use their width or a big carrying forward in wider areas. While their maul is varied the scrum is still a blunt instrument winning penalties before the backs have a go. Some teams have chosen to blunt their set piece game for more control. The All Blacks are kicking more penalties and are using their powerful scrum as an attacking tool choosing that set piece as an attacking weapon. Their willingness to maul more and in different positions is also becoming more prominent. The French continue to play conservative rugby off the set piece using their big bruisers frequently. The set piece is used differently by different teams. Different teams play different ways and can be successful regardless. They can win games with little territory and possession or smash teams with plenty of both. The game of rugby is for all types and sizes and thats true in the modern era. I hope that administrators keep it that way and dont go further towards a Rugby League style situation. Some administrators are of the opinion that rugby is too slow and needs to be sped up. Why not rather empower teams to choose how they want to play and create a framework that favours neither size nor agility. That favours neither slow tempo play or rock n roll rugby. Create a game that favour both and challenge teams to execute their plans. If World Rugby can create a game like that then it will be the ultimate winner.

34 Go to comments
J
JW 5 hours ago
'Let's not sugarcoat it': Former All Black's urgent call to protect eligibility rules

Yep, no one knows what will happen. Thing is I think (this is me arguing a point here not a random debate with this one) they're better off trialing it now in a controlled environment than waiting to open it up in a knee jerk style reaction to a crumbling organtization and team. They can always stop it again.


The principle idea is that why would players leave just because the door is ajar?


BBBR decides to go but is not good enough to retain the jersey after doing it. NZ no longer need to do what I suggest by paying him to get back upto speed. That is solely a concept of a body that needs to do what I call pick and stick wth players. NZR can't hold onto everyone so they have to choose their BBBRs and if that player comes back from a sabbatical under par it's a priority to get him upto speed as fast as possible because half of his competition has been let go overseas because they can't hold onto them all. Changing eligibility removes that dilemma, if a BBBR isn't playing well you can be assured that someone else is (well the idea is that you can be more assured than if you only selected from domestic players).


So if someone decides they want to go overseas, they better do it with an org than is going to help improve them, otherwise theyre still basically as ineligible as if they would have been scorning a NZ Super side that would have given them the best chance to be an All Black.

147 Go to comments
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