FIJI sevens halfback Jerry Tuwai has pleaded with Fijians to respect the players and their families even when they lose a series or an international tournament.
Foul language, criticisms and swears cast at our national heroes on social media, Tuwai said, caused a lot of hurt to the players, who would only look at each other during training sessions and shed silent tears.
He said the pain of reading such degrading comments about them and their families on social media sites would only show on the players’ faces.
During an interview with this newspaper at Fiji Link’s third birthday celebration in Labasa on Friday night, Tuwai said the players had been injured, hurt and some were on medication because of the impact of the games.
“When Fiji wins, we all win but when Fiji loses, only the players lose and we feel that because we are not supported or thanked or praised for playing tough matches,” he said.
“We feel the pain of our
injuries and muscle tear or broken bones and it is even worse when our people back home criticise us and swear at us and our families on social media.
“I have seen swears directed to me and my family and other players as well have seen Fijians swearing at them on social media and swearing at their fathers and mothers.
“What have we done wrong to deserve this? We have been injured all because of the love of our nation but I am asking Fijians to show more respect for the players. We and our families don’t deserve to be sworn at
on social media. But we deserve all your support and prayers.”
Tuwai said whenever they faced a tough opponent while on tour, the players would joke around saying they had to win the match or face getting chased out of Fiji.
“It has come to that extent and the players will joke about being chased out of Fiji if we lose the match,” he said.
“We don’t have an easy task and we accept that fans won’t take defeat easily as the answer but want a win all the time.
“But the fans also need to know we are humans just like them and we also make mistakes. We can’t win all the time and especially when all the rugby sevens teams around the world are developed like Canada, which is a good team.”
With preparation in progress for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 and Commonwealth Games, Tuwai has asked for the prayers and support of all Fijians.
And he has also pleaded with fans to be patient and give their coach, Gareth Baber, a chance.
“He is a good coach and our loss in this series is nothing new. If you look at Fiji’s sevens history, we never won any series for a long time before Ben Ryan came and even when he started, we didn’t win a series in the beginning,” he said.
“It is the same with Baber. Let us give him a chance because he has what it takes to make a difference.”
