Fiji 7s Begins Plans For Hong Kong 7s Title Defence

Fiji Airways Fijian 7s head coach Gareth Baber has admitted being put in the ‘Pool of Death’ at the Hong Kong 7s is going to make the de­fence campaign more difficult.

The Fijians are top seeds in Pool C alongside arch rivals New Zealand, Aus­tralia and Kenya.

“It’s a tough, tough pool,” he said.

“Fourth or fifth time I have been in­volved in the pool of death and that is for the three years I have been here.”

The side will use the remaining weeks to employ a strategic game plan to de­fend the title at the Hong Kong 7s.

“Training for the players can be gen­erated from the three tough games you have to play. And for that you really need to stay focused,” he said.

“Going into Hong Kong the issues are al­ways going to be lack of injuries, fatigue and to battle through the three games.

“We had a meeting when we get off the plane. We always do that debriefing when we get back.

“They know what they have to do and they know that we aim to win that title.

“We often say that we have to win six fi­nals and most notably on Friday and Sat­urday to get ourselves in the quarterfinal slot that we need.

“It’s a tough pool but that’s the nature of the competition we are involved in.”

WINNING RECORD

Since the tournament started in 1976, Fiji have played in 28 finals and won 18. Traditional rivals New Zealand played 22 but won 11. Australia come in third with eight finals and winning five.

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

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