THE McDonald’s Nadi senior men’s rugby coach Cohan Politini says his side’s 31-12 victory over Navosa has provided another valuable opportunity to test the depth of the squad and give new players a chance to prove themselves.
Nadi defeated Navosa in round six of the Skipper Cup competition at King Charles Park in Nadi on Saturday, with three more players making their debuts for the home side.
Politini said the coaching staff continued to rotate players and used the recent matches to develop new talent ahead of the tougher contests later in the competition.
“We had three debutants this week again, so altogether from last week we had seven new faces, and we had 10 new guys altogether on the field against Navosa,” Politini said.
“We are happy that we could use this game to believe in all these new players.”
Nadi had anticipated a strong response from Navosa following their disappointing defeat last week and Politini said his players prepared accordingly.
“We were anticipating Navosa to bounce back after that disappointing defeat last week, and bounce back they did today.
“But we ensured that we covered all those areas during last week, and we had a very good week of preparation for them.”
The match also marked the return of Fiji 7s player Nacani Boginisoko, who is gradually making his way back into the Nadi setup after recovering from injury.
Politini said the coaching staff was taking a cautious approach with the talented back.
“We are happy to have another back. He played a lot of games for Nadi last year, but he has come back from an injury.
“We are just bringing him along slowly and hopefully we can use him more in the next few games.”
Politini said Nadi had deliberately rested several senior players in recent weeks, allowing emerging players to gain valuable experience.
However, he expects more experienced campaigners to return as the competition enters a crucial stage.
