SKILLS coach Gareth Baber says Edinburgh will need to be on the money to ensure they avoid an embarrassing and costly slipup against struggling Zebre on Friday evening – and he knows all about what that means given that his face was recently emblazoned on a special edition Fijian banknote in recognition of his efforts helping the country’s national sevens team achieve gold medal glory in last year’s Olympics. 

“It is $7 bill, and I think it is gold on one side to commemorate the men’s team and I’m on that piece, and bronze on the other to recognise the women’s team,” said Baber, who was head coach of the Fiji Sevens for five years before joining the Edinburgh management team in December. “It is obviously a particular honour to have that happen to you, but I haven’t got hold of one yet – I’ll have to go to Fiji for that.” 

Zebre currently prop up the United Rugby Championship table having lost all 13 matches they have played so far. Meanwhile, Edinburgh have not lost at home all season, and have averaged 54 points during their last four games at the DAM Health Stadium. 

However, as a proud Welshman, Baber is acutely aware that all winning and losing streaks have to come to an end at some point, with the memory of Italy ending their 36-match losing run in the Six Nations with a sensational win over his homeland last month still fresh in his memory. 

“Zebre can create pressure in the game against us and we need to keep focus on what it is that gets us these results,” he said. “It is about managing games to ensure we are in the ascendancy regardless of whether the opposition are top or bottom of the league. 

“You only have to ask Wales about getting a backlash from an Italian team,” he added. “It’s the next game, the next challenge and we won’t take it lightly. We’re going to have to be at our best to ensure we do get the victory.”