Returning Fiji Sevens coach warns against writing off defending champs

Gareth Baber believes has warned against writing off defending Olympic Champions Fiji at the Rugby Sevens in Paris.

Baber rejoined the Fiji Sevens team for the Olympic Games, having previously led them to gold in Tokyo three years ago.

Baber had been involved with Edinburgh as a backs coach and is currently the director of rugby services at Cardiff Met. He returned to international coaching after Fiji sacked their previous head coach with three World Series tournaments left before defending their Olympic crown.

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As double Olympic champions, the ‘Flying Fijians’ are considered strong medal contenders, even if they go in as underdogs to Paris 2024 after a disappointing 2024 SVNS season.

They started their campaign with a commanding 40-12 victory over Uruguay, followed by an equally impressive 38-12 win against the USA.

“I was asked to come in to try to help to put right some of the big issues around the squad and to support the new coaching team,” Baber told the WRU website.

“Cardiff Met have been fantastic in allowing me to split my time to work with Fiji and it is a huge honour to be involved with the Olympic Games once again. Fiji is one of the few teams in the world who could pull off another win despite recent form.

“There has been a slight shift in context surrounding rugby in Fiji with the creation of the Drua Super Rugby side and a lot of talent and resource has gone into making the 15-a-side team as competitive as possible.

“I went back for the first time since 2021 in October and it is still a country I feel very much in love with. My family lived there for four-and-a-half years and I understand what sevens rugby means to the people in the country.”

Baber is working alongside Osea Kolinisau, the gold medal-winning captain from the 2016 Rio Olympics, who took over as head coach four months ago. Their collaboration aims to inspire another successful run, with Fiji seeking to replicate their historic achievement from eight years ago when they won their first Olympic gold medal.

Baber’s experience and Kolinisau’s leadership are seen as key factors in Fiji’s quest to maintain their dominance in rugby sevens on the world stage.

“The French beat Fiji in Madrid by one try and there is no doubt they have the capacity to compete for a medal,” said Baber.

“We’ve been seeking consistency in our performances and there are four gold medal winners in the squad. I think we can do some good things.”