Drug find
HARD drugs have been found by people on Naviti while walking to and fro going about their business. I wonder of what value? A whole heap of full beer kegs I believe but pending analysis of course. All you drug peddlers, stop throwing plastic parcels into our ocean. It’s such a foolish thing to do. Got to find these fools. Time for all of us to take this menacing “bull” by its horns and kick it out. If there are intel about these people with the authorities, perhaps they can “flick” that to the populace. Let’s not “goof” around with this “bull” stuff. MANOJ LAL PATEL Drasa Ave, Lautoka
Where are the parents
IN the evenings as I commute home after work, I walk through the Cost U Less car park and then on to Damodar City Centre. And on most occasions I come across young children no more than 12 years old selling fruits, pies and roti parcels and at times begging people to buy their food items before they can go home. I find this to be quite disheartening. These children should be at home under the supervision of their parents, instead they are sent out most evenings to try to make extra money. With all that is happening here in Fiji pertaining to young people going missing and the high rate of child abuse, I encourage all parents and guardians to ensure that their children are given all the opportunities to get educated and to be within a protected environment at home. I firmly believe that parents must supervise their children and protect them from all forms of ill-treatment, exploitation and suffering. A. V. ANTHONY Suva
Play with pride
Monday’s The Fiji Times sports headline which read ‘Outclassed’ revealed how our Flying Fijians were whipped by the Bravehearts at Murrayfield. We are less than a year away from the RWC and trust me the performance of our boys should send signals to FRU that a mammoth task is needed if we are to progress from our pool which means beating Wales, which beat Australia 9-6 in the weekend. Teams in the southern hemisphere are aware of our weaknesses — sloppy defence, indiscipline, and set-piece and deny the Flying Fijians possession. Hence, Scotland targeted our forwards and dominated play and it paid dividends as the Bravehearts crossed over for 8 tries. The continued pressure by Scotland paid off for the hosts as two of our overseas based players — Cavubati and Nakarawa were yellow-carded. On the other hand, I don’t know for how long our losses during the Autumn Test will be a learning process and a learning curve. It’s time that we prepare well and play with pride. This week, our boys will face Uruguay in Hartpury near Gloucester before the daunting task of taking on the French, which narrowly lost to the Springboks 29-26. Against Uruguay I’d love to see the electrifying combination of Veitokani and Lomani thrown in the thick of things. Finally, I urge our boys to play with pride and play for that white jumper. Compare the way some of them play for their clubs and the way they play for Fiji, the difference is clear! Rajnesh Ishwar Lingam Nadawa, Nasinu
Nadi Town
I have been enjoying Robert Kennedy’s recollections of Nadi in The Sunday Times, but must take issue with his claim that the place-name Nadi originates from the Hindi word for ‘river’. Nice story though it is, it cannot be true, because the name Nadi was recorded long before the girmitia arrived in the country — the earliest reference I am aware of is 1827, when it was recorded by the French explorer Dumont d’Urville, and early missionaries also mentioned it in the 1840s and 1850s. Nor can I agree with my friend Joseva Namisi Leano’s suggestion (FT 13/11) that the name originates from the local word nadi meaning ‘ripe’ of crab meat. The reason is simply that just because two words sound the same it doesn’t necessarily mean they are connected, and places are not named after such adjectives, but after permanent features of the landscape. I do have a theory about the origin of the place-name Nadi, but space does not permit me to expound it here and now. Paul Geraghty USP, Suva
Winning formula
After the Flying Fijians’ thrashing by Scotland at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh early Sunday morning, John McKee’s interview with Herald Scotland said, “For us it is always learning curve all the time”. Instead of using important Fiji Test matches as learning experiences for him and his boys, I suggest John McKee should come and learn from coach Senirusi Seruvakula how to counter the winning team at crunch time and learn from him how to spearhead strategies, to counter quick mauls, rucks, set pieces and all facets of rugby then turn them into Fiji’s favour. John McKee should also learn by now that the modern trend in the rugby world today is all about the test of physical endurance and 80 minutes accurate, fast-paced rugby as displayed by the Drua boys. Ratu Nacani Mocelutu Sugutanaivalu Nabitu Village, Tokatoka, Tailevu
Rugby disappointment
People are disappointed with the result of Fiji’s first Autumn Test. It is an acceptable reaction from fans based on their performance in the second-half. On the contrary, we should appreciate and recognise the positive direction that Fiji Rugby Union has set. In the years gone by, their set-pieces and fitness towards the end of matches were woeful. This was evident even in world cups. The development program of Fiji rugby has to be the best of all the sports in Fiji. Competitions at different levels including primary school, secondary school, age grade overseas tours, Drua’s NRC participation and Vanua XV tour are some of the Fiji Rugby Union’s initiatives. Although every match and result matters, we should not be compelled towards interpreting a team’s performance on one match only. In any sport, no team has ever won all the games it has played. There will be some wins, losses and draws. Against Scotland, Fiji showed its potential when in possession. Possession was the key in the match. Fiji gave away possession way too cheaply. Other contributing factors were the amount of preparation time and notably, the number of matches played together by the starting 15 compared with the Scots. Scotland participates in a tournament every year. They get to play regularly against top European nations. Imagine what level of Fiji team we will have given this sort of opportunity. Comparing the assembly of the two teams, Scots mostly play in European competitions whereas the Fiji players arrive from competitions in different hemispheres. I think the Fiji rugby team to the world cup next year will be the best to leave our shores. Mohammed Imraz Janif Natabua, Lautoka
