Tinaviti eyes rebuild after Farebrother loss

Naitasiri head coach Timoci Tinaviti says his side will use the loss of the Farebrother-Sullivan Trophy to Ra as motivation to rebuild ahead of next season.

Ra claimed a narrow 32-27 victory in a tough and closely contested battle to wrest the trophy from Naitasiri.

Tinaviti told SUNsports yesterday that the defeat marked the end of Naitasiri’s season, but stressed there was still plenty of room for improvement.

“I’ve told the boys it’s not the end of the road,” he said. “There’s a lot of room for improvement, and our season has now come to an end.

“We will go back and review all our weak areas, especially in the contact areas and the structure of our game. “We are looking forward to next season and rebuilding on what we have achieved this year.”

He identified poor discipline as one of the main reasons for the defeat, saying costly penalties allowed Ra to take control.

“Our discipline was an area that caused our downfall. We received two consecutive yellow cards in the dying minutes because of high tackles, and that affected us. We gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and Ra capitalised on them.”

Despite the disappointment, Tinaviti acknowledged Ra’s performance and wished the side well ahead of its next challenge.

“To all the Naitasiri supporters, I would like to thank you for your tireless support of our gladiators from the start of the season,” he added.