Fiji Airways Men’s National 7s team coach Gareth Baber has revealed that he was absolutely gutted to see former captain Paula Dranisinukula leave the side during their road to the Tokyo Olympics.
Baber says with Dranisinukula leaving, an injured Kalione Nasoko and an uncertain Jerry Tuwai who had received a lucrative deal in the US, he was running out of experienced players.
Baber says the postponement of the Olympics for another year was perhaps good for Nasoko as it gave him more time to recover.
He adds Nasoko has not played his best rugby for the last 7 months but what he brought to the team was experience.
Baber says finding the right balance between experience and youth was important.
He says the decision to take Semi Radradra was a prime example of this because he needed players who understand the pressure and could talk others through it.
