New Fiji 7s head coach Ben Gollings is just as excited as Fijian rugby fans after his appointment was announced by the Fiji Rugby Union last week.
“I am so excited too,” he said on Monday.
“I am extremely honoured and excited to start this new chapter.”
Gollings is the second Englishman alongside 2016 Rio Olympic Games gold medal winning coach Ben Ryan to coach the Fiji 7s team.
He succeeded Wales’ Gareth Baber, the 2020 Japan Olympics hero. Gollings, one of Fiji’s feared opponents during his playing days, told The Fiji Times that working in Fiji would not be as smooth as silk.
Especially with the results left behind by his predecessors.
“They (Ryan and Baber) certainly set the benchmark. I have to observe first and then add too, where I know I can. There will always be pressure, but that’s not a bad thing.”
Like his northern hemisphere mates, working in Fiji is a rugby dream to pursue.
“I have always enjoyed the way Fiji plays the game and their passion for it. I admired them as a team. I look forward to this opportunity and I am thankful to my wife Lauren for supporting me to get it at this point and for my family.”
Gollings, 41, is a close friend of the best 7s player of all time, Waisale Serevi. He is expected to be greeted with a sea of fans when he arrives in Suva next week.
New FRU chairman Humphrey Tawake said: “I fully support the appointment of Ben in the role as he represents everything that Fiji rugby had envisioned in the new head coach. I am sure he will lead the team to greater success.”
Gollings has a colourful resume after being involved with 7s rugby for about 20 years, coached six national teams and was a high-performance consultant among other qualifications.
He is the only player to have scored 2652 points in the World Rugby Sevens Series (WRSS).
His first assignment will be the Malaga 7s in Spain next month in the WRSS before the Commonwealth Games which Fiji has never won.
The games are from July 28 to August 8, 2022 and the Rugby Sevens World Cup in South Africa from September 9-11, 2022.
