Gilmore Tells Of Winning Game Plan
Australia A coach, Jason Gilmore, revealed how he mapped out his plan on how to stop the Vodafone Flying Fijians in their Pacific Nations Cup clash, last Saturday.
When the Flying Fijians named Manasa Mataele at fullback while Josua Tuisova and Vinaya Habosi were on the wings, Gilmore knew they were under a lot of threat.
The Fijian players, he says, maybe very physical but there had been questions about their kicking game and this was where he focused on.
“We knew Fiji got some threats that are very physical especially with Tuisova, Habosi floating around the field and Mataele at fullback,” Gilmore said.
“We needed to be really sharp defensively. The boys stuck to the task really well.”
Gilmore who is the defence coach of the NSW Waratahs used his kickers of halfback Ryan Lonergan, Ben Donaldson at No.10 and Jock Campbell at fullback to place kicks deep inside the Fiji territory.
This is where the loose forwards led the charge of pressuring the Fijians into mistakes as they opted to run the ball out instead of kicking it.
Gilmore applauded the way his side gained huge territorial advantage with what he terms as ‘smart kicks’.
“Yes, you got to make sure that when you give Fiji the ball, you give it to them in the right area.
“You certainly we don’t want to be throwing the ball to Fiji because that’s where they’re most dangerous,” he added.
Feedback: sereana.salalo@fijisun.com.fj
