Ba U20 hold nerve against Taveuni

Ba Under-20 head coach Pe­naia Cokomata praised his young side for holding their composure under pressure after edging Taveuni 13-7 in Round 3 of the Skipper Cup Under-20 competi­tion.

Cokomata said Taveuni tested Ba from the opening whistle.

"It was not an easy game, we were tested from the beginning. Taveuni is a good side, we expected this from them," he said.

The match was marred by disci­plinary issues, with both teams receiving yellow cards and a red card.

"There was a lot of discipline issues through the red card and yellow cards in the game. Just grateful, the boys maintained the lead and came out with the win," Cokomata said. He was pleased with improve­ments in the set pieces but said dis­cipline remained a concern.

"We were really pleased with the improvements in the lineout and scrums, but discipline is one area we will go back and look at," he said.

"This discipline, if we are not careful, it will cause our defeat.

"We are grateful that this is the third round of Skipper Cup Un­der-20, and we will look forward to better our performance."

Cokomata also used the match to field new players, with six debu­tants given an opportunity at Un­der-20 level.

"We are really impressed with how they adapted their game and played well," he said.

"We didn't field some of our core squad because we wanted the new breed to have a feel."