Fiji's campaign for World Cup Sevens glory in Hong Kong next month will suffer badly from the shock dismissal of the country's coach Pauliasi Tabulutu, according to New Zealand's respected sevens guru Gordon Tietjens.
Tietjens, coach of defending World Cup champions New Zealand, expressed surprise at the ousting of his Fijian counterpart, saying it would do his arch-rivals no good, especially with the Hong Kong tournament less than three weeks away.
'I was really surprised to hear that Pauliasi [Tabulutu] had resigned. I don't know if he resigned or if he was pushed. But whatever, that is a huge move to make so close to the World Cup and I don't think it will be good for Fiji, especially as the new coach has never coached sevens,' Tietjens said yesterday. Tabulutu, who was appointed by the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) to help the former sevens giants regain their glory days - Fiji last won a title in 2001 in George, South Africa - resigned last week. He was replaced by national 15s coach Wayne Pivac.
A source close to Tabulutu told the Sunday Morning Post yesterday that the former sevens star had been forced to hand over his resignation by the FRU who apparently pushed the panic button after poor results at the Wellington Sevens and the Los Angeles Sevens earlier this month when Fiji failed to reach the Cup finals.
'The Fiji Rugby Union staged a coup. Pauliasi did not resign. He never resigned. It was all politics and they took him out. Everybody is disappointed, including his former teammate Waisale Serevi,' said the source.
Tietjens said the shock ousting could disrupt Fiji's preparations as countries finalised their plans for the 24-team tournament from March 18-20 at Hong Kong Stadium.
