Gareth Baber answers SOS: ‘I just want Fiji to be successful’

Having led Fiji’s men to victory in the Olympic Games sevens gold medal in Tokyo, Gareth Baber is no stranger to managing the enormous expectations of a country.

Baber took on the task of helping Fiji capture a third straight title in Paris in just eighteen weeks after having to duplicate the gold medal triumph of Ben Ryan’s team in Rio.

Baber, who is scheduled to depart from Heathrow today and arrive in Nadi on Monday, has been asked to use his extensive knowledge of sevens to assist Osea Kolinisau, the new head coach of Fiji 7s. Kolinisau is the former captain of Fiji 7s and an Olympic gold medallist from Rio who took over for England’s Ben Golling, who was fired after his team failed to win a leg of the HSBC SVNS.

The Welshman acknowledges that his appointment will heighten expectations for both the men’s and women’s seven squads. He will work with the players and coaches and will take on the post in two-week blocks because his family is currently back in Cardiff. “As Fiji, I know that if you don’t win every tournament, then you have lost—that’s the kind of narrative and the national psyche which creates a standard and expectation,” he said to RugbyPass. Because of their immense talent, the Fiji men’s team is capable of taking home the gold in Paris and could likely do it even in the absence of a coach.

This is not about adding fairy dust; rather, it’s about realising the difficult, concrete components that must come together in order to achieve the performance levels necessary to realise potential when it counts. That’s my task for the next eighteen weeks. All I want is for Fiji to succeed.

As a player, Osea took home a gold medal, and having gone through a difficult evolution with Ben (Ryan), he knows what’s needed. Osea has a strong character and is developing as a coach; I know this because I went through it with Fiji, and I think this will benefit the men’s and women’s programmes at Saiasi Fuli. Since the Games aren’t in four years, we must narrow down what the teams actually require.

“I have had mentors throughout my career. As a head coach, there are some things you just don’t know until someone sheds light on them. Sometimes, these things are small but effective in fostering the kind of environment that allows players to perform at the levels the team needs to.” I’ll be trying to accomplish that with the players, coaches, management, and other stakeholders. In the end, I have a limited amount of time left, so we must find performances somewhere. To make those improvements, we will need to work extremely hard and strategically.

“Ben (Gollings) had a difficult time getting through the process, and he did a commendable job considering the high expectations surrounding one-off competitions, let alone a series spanning several years.

“Coaches with a reputation, like Ben Ryan and I, come in with wins under our belts, but that is only meaningful in the short term. It appears that Ben (Gollings) has simply been unable to produce regular performances for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the existence of a few teams with established consistency on the world sevens circuit, such as Argentina, Ireland, and now France with Antoine Dupont. It’s beneficial for the sevens game and increases the tournament’s prominence to have a player of Dupont’s calibre involved. Ireland and Argentina have demonstrated what is possible with the correct programme in place.

“I feel bad for Ben (Gollings), because he should have known that Fiji can win tournaments no matter what—all they need to do is find that level of consistency.” However, we accept these occupations knowing that they will provide obstacles.

Baber has been a member of the Edinburgh coaching staff since leading Fiji to victory in the Tokyo Olympics. He is currently the director of rugby systems at Cardiff Metropolitan University, the rugby hub that gave birth to England’s Alex Dombrandt. The university has granted Baber permission to start working with the Fiji men’s and women’s sevens as the National Programme Manager. Part of Baber’s new responsibilities include helping the team place in the top three for the men’s 2024 finals in Madrid, in the top five for the women’s, and in the same rankings for the rest of the HSBC SVNS.

The renowned Hong Kong sevens leg of the HSBC series, which takes place on April 5-7 and holds a special place in the hearts of Fijians, is Baber’s first competition in the role. Baber used to coach the local rugby union squad for this event. Prior to Paris and the Olympic title defence, the new finals event will take place in Madrid from May 31 to June 2 following the upcoming round in Singapore from May 3–5. The top eight in each table advances to the finals in Madrid, with the men’s and women’s teams from Fiji ranked third and seventh, respectively, in the HSBC table.

Since his departure from the islands, Fiji has seen a transformation, with the Fijian Drua providing young players in the nation with a lucrative Super Pacific Rugby alternative. He said, “The challenge is that the talent from the villages that would have naturally headed to sevens is being honed for the Drua and the Flying Fijians. The Drua have been threatening to achieve these great results and they are becoming more consistent, which is great.” Sevens is important to the Fijian people and the development of the game, and it has its place.

“We must perform at a level that enables us to deliver when we get in Paris. This 18-week challenge is part of my ongoing involvement with Cardiff Met, where I’m enjoying my career working with amazing people in a high-performance system and being able to work in my hometown. I’ll return to Cardiff following the Olympics.

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