FIJI 7s coach Gareth Baber believes victory at the Sydney 7s in Australia last Sunday was achieved through teamwork and not through the influence of one person.
Some rugby pundits have regarded former national rep and former Fiji 7s coach Tomasi Cama of having an influence on the team, a claim which has been rubbished by Baber.
Cama was brought in by the Fiji Rugby Union to mentor the players last year, but he was not with the team at the New Zealand 7s in Hamilton a fortnight ago.
The Fijian 7s legend was present at the Sydney 7s with his trip reportedly paid by some fans in Australia.
Baber said it was always nice to win.
“It shows you that all of the hard work that you have done is good,” Baber said when the team returned home on Monday night.
“Particularly the hard work of the staff and the players. Brad Harris has come in as the assistant coach and he was excellent throughout the two weeks and had been superb in the lead-up as well.
“It is good to have good coaches around me. Some people regard Tomasi Cama of having an influence on the team which is absolutely rubbish.
“The fact is that it has been a group effort by everybody involved.
“We have had some good times together and some tough times together, but we have shared them together.
“It is not one person who does everything. It is not me, but everybody together that got those victories.”
The players have been given a short break and will undergo medical tests on Friday, Baber said.
Fiji defeated South Africa 12-10 in the final of the Sydney 7s and has moved to fifth position on the series’ points table with four more tournaments remaining.
Baber said they had not made any major moves, but gone back to doing what was best.
“The meaning behind what you are doing and the processes you go through, how you regard getting better as individuals and as a team and concentrate on what our job is.
“We got a little bit of luck on our way in Sydney which all teams need, but we played some good rugby.
“It was good to see us back at those performance levels that we have always talked about getting.”
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series moves to Los Angeles from February 29 to March 1 with the Canada 7s in Vancouver from March 7-8.
Points standing:
New Zealand – 76
South Africa – 67
France – 56
England – 54
Fiji – 53
USA – 47
Australia – 47
Argentina – 45
Ireland – 33
Canada – 26
