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'Bring Tuwai into coaching team and eject players past their prime' - Delasau
By Chris Jones
Vilimoni Delasau, the former Fiji rugby sevens wing, wants double Olympic Games gold medallist Jerry Tuwai added to the coaching team preparing the squad for the Paris Olympics this summer and to help secure a first HSBC SVNS title for Ben Gollings, the under fire head coach.
Delasau told SUNsports, it is also vital that young talent is brought into the squad rather than continuing with established players who may have lost their edge at the highest level.
“But that is not happening,” he said. “If you watch these players now, some have passed their prime. We need to take new players who are hungry.”
A recent meeting between Gollings and Tuwai reportedly cleared the air between the men after the playmaker revealed the coach had told him to play in regional tournaments to prove he can still be a force on the sevens circuit.
This prompted Tuwai to question Gollings’ ability to run the squad.
Delasau, who played 29 times for the Flying Fijians and took part in the 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cups, registered 85 tries in his sevens career and added: “I am not too sure what the deal with Ben Gollings is?
"It hurts to see what can be done, is not being done. If I was to choose I will put him (Tuwai) in the coaching panel with (Sireli) Bobo, maybe (Isake) Katonibau or some other senior players who has done it before.
“Sevens (rugby) from my experience is one year, second year is okay. When it goes to the third year, you start to lose interest. You just go for the money or go for the tour. That’s what I experienced, in my third year I was looking forward to signing a fifteens contract and going overseas.
“What is the use of development when we continue to pick the same players time and again? We do pick one or two new players but why not pick five or seven new players one go? What’s the use of development when we keep on picking the same squad?
“We have so much depth. At the Coral Coast tournament, some new players were also commended by USA coach Mike Friday.”
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Latest Comments
The difference between Fassi and Le Roux?
Almost 100 tests. Fassi is growing from test to test and is already world class. It’s going to be difficult for Damian Willemse to usurp Fassi at 15 and may find himself destined as the utility back on the bomb squad.
South Africans love hating on their fullback. A proud tradition since Percy Montgomery (before he won us a World Cup). So I don’t pay much mind to the noise that follows anyone who puts on the 15 jersey for SA.
Go to commentsNo, Penney's win rate as a Super Rugby coach BEFORE he was given a 2 year contract here, was 23%. He came in with a very poor success rate at SR level.
This loser vibe was borne out over the SR season where we won only 4 games while losing 10. Finishing 9th in a 12 team competition & missing a QF spot was next level DOWN.
There's zero evidence that suggests we will win 10 games (70%) as you predict. I understand there may be new assistant coaches coming on board. At this stage, we can only hope for the best.
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