Poor Dubai outing
AFTER struggling to beat Japan, Fiji lost to Argentina in a must-win match and despite beating France, our boys were bundled out of pool play. It was the first time in 21 years that Fiji failed to qualify from the pool. Argentina, with the likes of Luna, Moroni, Schulz, Ulloa, Etchart, Alvarez, Velez, veteran Revol, Mare, Osadczuk, Gonzalez and Sabato outclassed Fiji and took advantage of our sloppy defence and poor discipline. Against France our boys should have known that they had to beat France by 18 points, but there was lack of urgency, commitment and dedication and once again poor discipline let us down. In every match that we played our boys were shown the way to the sin bin. Those who we had expected to lead the charge let us down with their performance on the field. Hence, the likes of Laugel, Dall’igna, Veredamu, Bouhraoua, Mazzoleni, Riva, Siega, Lakafia, O’Connor, Barraque, Valleau and Mignot had the last laugh as they made the quarters. Against the likes of Mullins, Kaay, Fuailefau, Berna, Morra, Braid, Richard, Coats, Hirayama, Kay, Jones and Thiel Fiji struggled, but managed to come out winners. The team to this year’s Dubai 7s was a shadow of the side seen in London and France. Fiji now lies in ninth place with eight points and a miracle is needed in Cape Town if we are to defend our title as teams such as Samoa, NZ, Australia, USA, England and the hosts will be tough to beat. Areas of concern include our aggressiveness at breakdown, poor discipline, lack of communication and support play, missed tackles and individual play. I hope that Baber will utilise the break to rejuvenate our boys for the tough battle in Cape Town. The poor outing in Dubai is water under the bridge. Let’s regroup and rock Cape Town! RAJNESH ISHWAR LINGAM Balgovind Rd, Nadawa, Nasinu
Ninth in Dubai
OUR ninth position at the Dubai 7s will shake the cobwebs and is a timely reminder that we are in the business end of our major goal which is a few months away — the defençe of the Rio gold. Our charismatic and high achiever coach Ratu Ben Ryan started his serious focus to Rio with an empty sheet, with a low profile and no major comments like winning gold until 2044 etç. We should remain humble and play our natural game, focus on a strict diet and use our natural training sites like the sand dunes to build a formidable team. There is no time to test new players and taking three brothers to test your game plan can have a negative impact as well apart from team bonding. It can create discipline issues on the field as if one brother is affected by a high shot or tackle or injury the other brothers will naturally react. Discipline was our major downfall in Dubai and with so many cards, we lost momentum. No team is testing new combinations at Dubai except Fiji and it’s costing us dearly. Concentrate on time management, discipline, ball retention, time subs, and above all the Rio mana magic talanoa, talanoa and veilomani the ready made recipe to winning gold. SHALWYN PRASAD Mukta Ben Place, Nabua
Resignation of Lala
LALA Sowane has resigned as the chairperson of the Special Administrators Lautoka City Council and Ba Town Council. She cites work commitment. I thank you Ms Sowane for being honest. May I suggest to the Government to choose people who not already have their hands full with their business commitment. Being an SA is a full-time job, not part-time. It stands to reason. ALLEN LOCKINGTON Kava Place, Lautoka
Special administrators
THE resignation of Lala Sowane as chairperson of the Special Administrators Lautoka City Council and Ba Town Council was not only expected, but I believe several more of these newly-appointed city and town administrators will resign because of their inability to cope with running their personal businesses and the council at the same time. Special Administrators ought to be people who can commit 100 per cent of their time and effort to managing city and town councils, nothing less. While I get the reasons behind appointing these business people for the positions, I don’t believe the appointments were deliberated enough to assure that these business people are able to commit themselves totally. There are many people available who are not only very capable, but very willing to make a difference and commit 100 per cent to the cause. A businessman, an accountant, an engineer, or a lawyer are not the only answer to council management. Having such qualifications does not necessarily assure that one can run a city or town council as the job requires some very different sets of skills in local knowledge, commitment, and most importantly in serving members of the community. Look closer and you will find the right candidates. SIMON HAZELMAN Rava Estate, Savusavu
Anti-corruption
campaign TO mark International Anti-Corruption Day, among the parties called upon to work together to combat corruption are “political leaders” (Letter FT 8/12). But how many political leaders around the world are themselves rounded up for corruption at any given time! In an advanced democracy like Australia with solid accountability, standards political leaders have had to quit Parliament and municipal councils for corruption. Some even do jail time. It’s a hard job (given the perks and the temptations of power) to “keep them honest”. Imagine what it could be like in a totalitarian regime or a banana republic? RAJEND NAIDU Sydney, Australia
AJ regains status
THE heavyweight rematch showdown between Andy Ruiz Jr and Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia lived up to expectations. Ruiz had dethroned Joshua with a seventh round stoppage in June, but AJ came back a wounded lion and showed his class as he was declared the champion and he regained the WBA, IBF and WBO titles that he lost in June. Furthermore, AJ walked to a near shutout on all three cards en route to a unanimous decision victory (118-110, 118-110 and 119-109). AJ put up a superb performance and came back strongly. I hope that his success after his initial failure will boost our 7s boys this weekend as they will learn to play smart rugby and also learn that success comes to those who work as a team! RAJNESH ISHWAR LINGAM Balgovind Rd, Nadawa, Nasinu
Bring the best
RESPECTFULLY, with fear, favour or any undue malice, the “claimed unfinished business” of current head coach John McKee finishes on December 31, 2019. Thank you for “mission unaccomplished” after two unsuccessful attempts at RWC 2015 and 2019. FRU please bring the next best expatriate head coach on strictly performance-basis. One chance at RWC 2023. Absolute bare minimum entry into Cup quarter-finals, and no less, to qualify for a second chance to progress for a stint at RWC 2027. Only adequately qualified local coaches with proven capabilities and extreme passion for international success to understudy expat head coach. Ability to sign up minimum four international Test matches to be played in nearby Australia and New Zealand, with tier one nations per annum, must be a prerequisite and reap maximum financial benefits for development of national rugby teams, going forward. Fiji rugby must now rise up to greater heights. No more “same old; same old” mere words and excuses. Walk the talk. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I hope to live and witness RWC 2023, and beyond, God-willing. RONNIE CHANG Martintar, Nadi
Fish poisoning
MANY of us kusima northerners have over time experienced fish poisoning not once but several times. It comes with our desire and craving for seafood. Many of us cannot live without a seafood diet. Apart from the 11 people who were admitted and treated for fish poisoning at the Labasa Hospital last week (FT 07/12) you can be assured that many more were poisoned but preferred to seek treatment at home. Having spent some time growing up in Savusavu an uncle of ours who had to eat seafood every day would first get us to serve and eat the fish before he did just to make sure it wasn’t poison. He would give us a few minutes before he would eat. He would mostly do it with known poisonous fish. On many occasions my first cousins and I would find ourselves crawling with bad headaches, joint and muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, tingling feeling in our mouths, fingers and toes, and even feeling faint over several days. Our uncle would laugh and make fun of our struggles for what he presumed was a good old country joke. When I think about it today what baffles me the most is that we never learnt our lesson and would end up in our uncles ridiculous prank and amusement and do it all over time and again. I guess our kusima had the better judgment! SIMON HAZELMAN Rava Estate, Savusavu
AJ regains status
THE heavyweight rematch showdown between Andy Ruiz Jr and Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia lived up to expectations. Ruiz had dethroned Joshua with a seventh round stoppage in June, but AJ came back a wounded lion and showed his class as he was declared the champion and he regained the WBA, IBF and WBO titles that he lost in June. Furthermore, AJ walked to a near shutout on all three cards en route to a unanimous decision victory (118-110, 118-110 and 119-109). AJ put up a superb performance and came back strongly. I hope that his success after his initial failure will boost our 7s boys this weekend as they will learn to play smart rugby and also learn that success comes to those who work as a team! RAJNESH ISHWAR LINGAM Balgovind Rd, Nadawa, Nasinu
Bring the best
RESPECTFULLY, with fear, favour or any undue malice, the “claimed unfinished business” of current head coach John McKee finishes on December 31, 2019. Thank you for “mission unaccomplished” after two unsuccessful attempts at RWC 2015 and 2019. FRU please bring the next best expatriate head coach on strictly performance-basis. One chance at RWC 2023. Absolute bare minimum entry into Cup quarter-finals, and no less, to qualify for a second chance to progress for a stint at RWC 2027. Only adequately qualified local coaches with proven capabilities and extreme passion for international success to understudy expat head coach. Ability to sign up minimum four international Test matches to be played in nearby Australia and New Zealand, with tier one nations per annum, must be a prerequisite and reap maximum financial benefits for development of national rugby teams, going forward. Fiji rugby must now rise up to greater heights. No more “same old; same old” mere words and excuses. Walk the talk. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I hope to live and witness RWC 2023, and beyond, God-willing. RONNIE CHANG Martintar, Nadi
Fish poisoning
MANY of us kusima northerners have over time experienced fish poisoning not once but several times. It comes with our desire and craving for seafood. Many of us cannot live without a seafood diet. Apart from the 11 people who were admitted and treated for fish poisoning at the Labasa Hospital last week (FT 07/12) you can be assured that many more were poisoned but preferred to seek treatment at home. Having spent some time growing up in Savusavu an uncle of ours who had to eat seafood every day would first get us to serve and eat the fish before he did just to make sure it wasn’t poison. He would give us a few minutes before he would eat. He would mostly do it with known poisonous fish. On many occasions my first cousins and I would find ourselves crawling with bad headaches, joint and muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, tingling feeling in our mouths, fingers and toes, and even feeling faint over several days. Our uncle would laugh and make fun of our struggles for what he presumed was a good old country joke. When I think about it today what baffles me the most is that we never learnt our lesson and would end up in our uncles ridiculous prank and amusement and do it all over time and again. I guess our kusima had the better judgment! SIMON HAZELMAN Rava Estate, Savusavu
No prescription
WITH the tough competition between pharmacies, you can now literally buy any medication over the counter. No need for prescription. Sa sega rere eh? WISE MUAVONO Hedstrom Pl, Balawa, Lautoka
Our own plane
WHY can’t we buy our own plane? ALLEN LOCKINGTON Kava Place, Lautoka
Jabbing Joshua
ANTHONY Joshua won his belts back by outpointing Andy Ruiz. Andy found out after the fight that putting on an extra 50 pounds was a big mistake as he could not catch Joshua throughout the fight. Let’s see what happens in the third fight. I don’t know why after Joshua landed a jab he didn’t throw his right. SUKHA SINGH Labasa
Inmate rehab
I AM for the rehabilitation of inmates and their successful assimilation into local and working communities. When a serving male inmate was spotted taking part in a rugby scrimmage session, a lot of hot air arose. Now, a serving female inmate is to participate in the Fiji Fashion Week. Unrelated to gender, what is the difference? MOHAMMED IMRAZ JANIF Natabua, Lautoka
Broken leg
WHEN we defrost our local chicken we find more often than before that a leg is broken. This looks quite unpleasant on the dinner table. Damaged chickens (like other damaged goods) should be clearly marked and sold at a discount. I hope that the consumer council will take the matter up. LUPE SCOTT Morris St, Lautoka
Lamb chops
Dan Urai stated that in a country as ours where the minimum wage is $2.68 and one kilo of lamb chops costs more than $19.00, one can picture the hardship (FT 08/12). It would also be fair to state that in a country where the minimum wage is $2.68 and one kilo of yagona cost $120 many have no problems affording and buying it over a kilo of lamb chops. The same can be said about alcohol and cigarettes. With the poor quality of lamb chops one would be better off going without it. Dan must really love his lamb chops! Simon Hazelman Rava Estate, Savusavu
