Since arriving at the Olympics Games Village, this week, where there have been reports of COVID-19 cases, the focus for Fiji men’s 7s coach Gareth Baber has been to protect their team bubble to avoid unnecessary exposure that could potentially jeopardise their defence of the Olympics Rugby 7s Gold medal, starting tomorrow.
Baber said being in an athlete village with 15 to 20,000 people means working extra hard to ensure they are able to function still, do daily things such as maintaining a positive outlook and training.
“So we’re very mindful of that the whole time and keeping the team, and the staff safe is my biggest priority above all,” Baber said.
“I am pleased in the way that we have operated. We realise that responsibility, accountability we have for staying healthy for the purposes of performing next week but I’m really pleased with the way that we have operated.”
Baber said it takes a great deal of effort to be able to ensure training continues whilst keeping safe and mentally sound for the competition proper.
The Fiji 7s men’s team will play Japan in their opening game at 12midday tomorrow (Fiji Time) before facing Canada at 8 pm. The following day, they wrap up their pool proceedings against Great Britain at12.30pm. The Great Britain game will be a repeat of the 2016 Rio Olympics gold finale. Fiji claimed gold after beating Great Britain 43-7 in the final.
Photo: Fiji Rugby
