Lift Your Game
Rookies Filimoni Botitu and Meli Derenalagi need to lift their game in the Hamilton-Sydney cluster of the World Sevens Series as they’re going to be targeted by the other teams.
Fiji Airways Fijian 7s head coach Gareth Baber told SUNsports the 20-year-old reps are settling in as they are now known after their sterling performances in the Cape Town 7s win in South Africa last month.
Botitu scored two tries in the Cup final against USA and was named the Player of the Final while Derenalagi was dominant in the forwards.
“We’ve new players coming in as they are finding their feet in the group like Botitu and Derenalagi who are going to play in their second series,” Baber said.
“People are going to be watching them now so they’re not a surprise anymore and that comes with their own expectations and pressure so I’m going to manage them through that.”
He also said with senior players like Seremaia Tuwai, Kalione Nasoko, Paula Dranisinukula, Josua Vakurinabili around them is also very important as they could provide them strategies on how to handle certain situations.
Baber said they have had five weeks of hard work after the Christmas period.
“We progressed to that well as we know that Christmas could be distractions for the players but obviously we went back into camp and had training session at Albert Park in Suva and also at the Sigatoka sand dunes.
The Fijians are in Pool A of the New Zealand 7s in Hamilton where on Saturday they take on Wales at 10.52am, Argentina at 2.42pm with the final clash against Australia at 6.52pm.
Edited by Osea Bola
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