Nute’s tactical change fires up Suva

A tactical change by Suva rugby head coach Solo Nute when they were a man down worked well in their favour.

This contributed to Suva’s 31-22 win to stay unbeaten in the Skipper Cup competition.

Playing with 14-men, nippy halfback Terio Tamani was moved to first-five eighth to replace captain, Enele Malele, while Sakiua Siqila manned the winger’s berth.

The duo combined and had Nadroga backpedaling in front of their fans at Lawaqa Park, Sigatoka.

“We were shifting our boys around and we wanted them to be multitasked and adapt to the position they are put in,” Nute said.

“We were lucky to have the two combination of sevens (rugby) in Terio and Siqila.

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“Terio’s shift to fly-half was a timely move and we are pleased that he adapted and flourished in that position.”

“They (Terio and Siqila) add that flair and also provide that strong defence for our team, which really impacted our game.”

Nute said despite being a man down (due to red card) the players fought hard to execute their game plan.

“We came prepared for this game. Even though we did not score any points during the crucial moments of the game, the boys kept grinding hard until we won.”

The wily coach said it was a tough match especially playing Nadroga on their home turf.

“Nadroga is our main rival and to win here is indeed a sweet victory.

Nute said when they were down to 13 men at halftime he reminded the players to keep it tight and keep on going hard against Nadroga.”

For their next Skipper match against Naitasiri, he said they would work on their mistakes.

“Naitasiri is unpredictable and (like Nadroga) they have some Drua players with them. For now, we will enjoy this win and we will be back.

“We will build up on our strengths and we will not back down against Naitasiri,” Nute added.

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