A halftime prep talk by their head coach was all Naitasiri needed to get their act together before beating Ba 22-13 in round eight of the Skipper Cup competition at Ratu Cakobau Park in Nausori yesterday.
Naitasiri head coach Ilaitia Tuisese Jr said his message to the boys during the break was to get their head back in the game after being tied 10-all at halftime.
“The boys were not mentally focused in the first half so when they came outside for the break, I told them to get their head back into the game,” Tuisese Jr said.
The former Flying Fijians forward said their first 40 minutes of the match was “sloppy” and “unorganized”.
“They just weren’t in the right mental state in the first half, so I had to remind them of this when they came for the break.”
He labelled being mentally prepared as an area his side needed to work on before their next match, and the remainder of the season.
“It’s all in our heads, if we can envision it and see it, then we can achieve it.”
Tuisese Jr acknowledged the Ba side for putting up a fight against his boys, especially in the first half.
“The boys from Ba played very well today and it is exactly what we expected because we know they wanted to finish on a high since it was their last match of the normal season.
“So hats off to them for the effort they showed here today(yesterday).”
He thanked their fans and supporters for turning up in numbers to cheer on the team.
“We’re grateful to have a strong fan base, even here in Nausori, and we hope we can bring out a similar turnout next weekend.”
Looking towards their next match against Nadi this weekend, Tuisese Jnr says they would need to be on point from the sound of the first whistle.
“We can’t let what happened today (yesterday) happen again next weekend because we know the type of team Nadi is, always pouncing on every given opportunity.
“That is why we need to start well and strongly if we want to come out with a win.”
