Sevens Series victory
Ronnie Chang, Nadi.
They went. They saw. They conquered.
To our victorious 7s rugby gladiators, our sincere and heartfelt thanks and deep appreciation for all your immeasurable sacrifices for your sake, families, friends and supporters the whole wide world over plus your own home nation, Fiji.
An awesome welcome on arrival, organised by FRU, Government of the day and major sponsors is warranted. A golden handshake is the least we must offer.
Words are not appropriately adequate enough to express our gratitude and happiness as Fijians.
Vina du riki vo mutou kece!
Rugby 7s masters, 2019!
Epeli Rabua, Suva
From the very first game against England in the Paris 7s, a rugby commentator mentioned aptly what could be considered the most profound statement of the 2019 World 7s Rugby Series, ‘that the Fiji 7s team was teaching England, sevens rugby at Jedi level!’
And when you have an abundance of platinum value 7s players in a country that has made 7s rugby its own, we Fijians are always sore losers. To close out the last leg of the 7s series with back-to-back wins in London and Paris with the 2019 World 7s Series Championship thrown in as a bonus, was just another day at the office for our Fiji 7s heroes.
The master class of 7s rugby displayed by our 7s team will always astound audiences and commentators alike and for this last leg, they never disappointed. They even had the humility, to allow the New Zealand 7s team to score three tries consecutively to end the final.
Kudos to our coach, Gareth Baber, for changing the team at will as all 13 Fijian 7s players played as one unit. There was never any change in the performance, it was best or perfect! This gave the Fiji team an edge, as no team in the world could prepare defences to counter the flamboyancy of raw natural 7s talent.
As 2019 is now done and dusted, we look forward to preparations for the 2020 Olympics 7s competition. Our 7s ‘Jedi Masters’ will return, recuperate, meditate and resuscitate the inherent God given 7s talent we have been born with, to share with the World!
Toso Viti – we believed and we won!
Rugby headache
Floyd Robinson, Nasinu
While many will be coming to terms with our national sevens team’s victory in Paris and London, coach Gareth Baber may have a headache coming up.
Players such as Derenalagi, Botitu and Tuimaba are likely to be snatched or lured by professional rugby contracts soon. It will mean some key players departing and Baber having to search again for replacements as well as starting new combinations among the team selected for the next season.
In the meantime, let’s sit back, relax and enjoy our team being declared overall series winners. Imagine, they did this despite having to play against teams with annual budgets amounting in the millions. For now, some of our players will need enough rest and recovery time.
Joshua’s loss
Sukha Singh, Labasa
The fight between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz is the second biggest upset in boxing history after Buster Douglass knocked out Mike Tyson. It was one of the best fights I had seen after a long time. I just hope Andy Ruiz can keep the heavyweight title for a long time. I hope there will be a rematch, but Anthony Joshua better keep away from Andy’s punches.
Feedback: jyotip@fijisun.com.fj