Fiji needs win to boost morale

Press, 13 August 1980, Page 36

Fiji needs win to boost morale

PA Greymouth The touring Fijian rugby team plays its third tour match against West Coast, at Greymouth today, needing a win to restore flagging morale.

Beaten by Wanganui and Wellington, it now meets one of the weaker unions in the country — but the home side, is not lacking confidence after recent wins against Marlborough and Buller. Before the 1980 season started, West Coast had played 29 and lost 25 matches over the last four years. Its resurgence this season has coincided with the return to form of the former New Zealand Colt and Junior All Black, Gavin Cook, with a

string of fine performances. The Fijians will have a substantial height and weight advantage in the forwards but the Coast terriers play, well as a unit and ex=> pect to win a feast of ball through the loose trio of Winston Monk, Russell Johns and Alan Bruhn. The Coast forwards lack name players but they have been well coached in the fudamentals by Peter Higinbottom.

“I’m confident that the boys will acquit themselves well,” said Mr Higinbottom yesterday. “The Fijians are pretty mobile so we will just have to control the ball and eliminate our penalty mistakes. We can’t afford to give away valuable ground;

I “Fiji has not been impressive on tour so far and while the side will be tough I am sure that West Coast will be there at the end," said Mr Higinbottom. After being charged with dangerous and illegal tackling against Wellington, the Fijian team’s manager, Mr Etuate Tavia, promised there would be no repetition of such play. “We had a good session after the Wellington match,” said Mr Tavai yesterday. “The boys knew that they were wrong in what they did.

“One or two said that they were getting the treatment but as I told them it is always the last guy who is

seen by either the referee or the crowd. “I felt that the Wellington sports papers were a little unkind. “We love our rugby and play the game in a robust manner, but unlike other sides we do not regard a win as the beginning and end. We like to run the ball, we want to be happy, whatever the outcome. “The boys are sorry for what happened at Wellington and they have since made a pact that it will not happen again on tour so tomorrow’s game will . see hard, clean rugby,” said Mr Tavai. “But we also do not expect the niggling, the push-

ing anu ure punvning which we received. “The boys retaliated and that was a bad aspect of our rugby — one which I don’t like, as it gives us a bad image with our own people. “We are looking forward to the game with West Coast and I can assure you we are not taking the game lightly. The New Zealand union set us a tough tour, which I take personally as a compliment to Fijian rugby,” he said. “Fiji is to tour Argentina in October and the tour here is the build-up to that and meeting strong opposition is as good as a stiff trial match as far as we are concerned,” Mr Tavai said.