Noa Biudole
Fiji 7s coach Gareth Baber. Picture: FT FILE
Fijian 7s coach Gareth Baber expects France-based 15s rugby players Vilimoni Botitu and Aminiasi Tuimaba to gel back into the abbreviated code ahead of the preparations for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Botitu plays for Pau and Tuimaba features for Castres in the French Top 14 competition.
“You can’t deny that obviously they have been playing 15s for a while,” Baber said.
“We always realise this that when we are dealing with seasoned 7s players that they have the ability to play the game.
“They have been brought up in Fiji and we are blessed in that aspect. That becomes the grounding for most Fijian rugby players who go off to the rest of the world to play 15s. But they have the grounding of 7s and ultimately Tuimaba and Botitu they were part of the two year period that were preparing for the Olympics in 2020 so they would have been in that group.”
Cheslin Kolbe kicks 50m drop goal as Toulouse win French Top 14
News24
South Africa winger
Toulouse as they beat
La Rochelle 18-8 at the Stade de France on Friday.
Kolbe s drop goal helped Toulouse easily overcame La Rochelle, making their first Top 14 final appearance just seven years after promotion.
Former All Blacks backrower Jerome Kaino also capped his illustrious career by winning the French Top 14 for a second time.
Two-time Rugby World Cup winner Kaino, 38, retired after helping his club to a record-extending 21st league title, as well as a European and domestic double.
Toulouse head coach Ugo Mola, who beat the same opposition in May s Champions Cup final, started Thomas Ramos at flyhalf in place of fellow France international Romain Ntamack who was sidelined with a head injury since last Saturday s semi-final, with Kaino on the bench.
Springbok Cheslin Kolbe relishing unbelievable Van der Merwe Lions challenge news24.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from news24.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.