Former Olympic gold medal-winning coach Gareth Baber is expected to be announced as the new National Program Manager – Fiji 7s.
Baber will essentially oversee and quality control all planning, scheduling, coaching and selection of the Men’s and Women’s National 7s programs in consultation with the Head Coaches and the General Manager (GM) of High Performance (HP) and Women’s High Performance Manager (WHPM).
He will be responsible for the strategic direction and oversight, and staff development of the Fiji 7s teams.
Other responsibilities of the role are almost similar to those of the national 7s coach, including ensuring there is a clear game model/style of play that leverages the competitive advantage of Fijian players, ensure there is a detailed player depth chart aligned to the characteristics of the game model, and engage with the senior player leaders on a regular basis.
Baber’s key performance indicators (KPIs) include achieving Gold at the 2024 Olympics for the men’s team, a podium finish for the women’s team, and ensuring at least one semi-final appearance in the final two tournaments of the 2024 HSBC Series for both teams.
Other names that had been previously mentioned for the position were Ben Ryan and Waisale Serevi.
Baber’s KPIs also include securing top three and top five finishes for the Men’s and Women’s teams at the 2024 World Cup in Madrid, as well as maintaining top 3 and top 5 rankings throughout the 2024 HSBC 7s Series.
Meanwhile, Ian Gibbins who was appointed earlier this month as the National 7s trainer is expected to now oversee both mens and womens teams.
