FORMER Fiji 7s skipper and forward Etonia Naba has one piece of advice to impart to the Fiji Airways Fiji men’s 7s team: be aggressive.
Naba’s words come at a critical time for the Osea Kolinisau-coached team as they seek to earn a gold medal win at the Singapore 7s next week.
He shared these sentiments to Times Sport following the end of the men’s cup final of the McDonald’s Coral Coast Fiji 7s in Sigatoka last week.
“Yes, about the Fiji (men’s 7s) team, one thing they could really work on improving is their fitness and also their defence,” the former 7s skipper said.
He made these remarks in light of the Fiji Babas performance at the Coral Coast 7s, the side being a shadow of the national team.
And with competition in the HSBC SVNS Series becoming more competitive due to the revised format of the top two teams going right through to the semi-finals, the message by Naba drove deeper.
“They need to be aggressive because with all those teams we’ve seen here and the ones overseas, we really have to go up to them and tackle them,” he emphasised.
“You have to be aggressive or if not they will just walk through.”
Naba was the head coach of the Ravuka Sharks, a team out of Yadua Village in Nadroga, which had a consistent streak of wins in the Coral Coast, even upsetting the NZ Development 7s twice, coached by former NZ 7s captain Scott Curry.
With Fiji being the defending champion of the Singapore 7s, after a 21-12 win over Kenya in the final last year, even Kolinisau understands how high the stakes will be in ensuring they retain the title once more.
