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Fiji Time: 4:43 PM on Sunday 19 May

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Clubs to expose young talents

Arin Kumar
Wednesday, January 16, 2013

THE Hine Moana and Ricketts women's rugby clubs will use the Uprising Fiji International 7s tournaments to expose their young players to top level competition.

The other two teams they will face in the tournament are Striders and defending champions Marist Seahawks.

Both Hine Moana and Ricketts are currently being looked after by the Fiji Women's Rugby Union as they don't have a professional coach or administrators.

Union interim president Paulini Tamatasasa said the two teams were ready for the tournament and wanted to stamp their mark.

"Our main aim at this tournament is to give good exposure to our young upcoming players," she said.

"One player in the Hine Moana side to look out for is Makareta Tuinadau."

She said the clubs also featured some former Fijiana reps who could make a difference on the field.

"There are players like Talica Vodo, Elenia Taoba and Pricilla Siata in the Hine Moana side while the Ricketts side is a mixture of experienced and young players.

"With regular competition, both teams will become a force to reckon in the country and the players could even become national reps."

The tournament, co-sponsored by the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, will be held at Lautoka's Churchill Park and Tamatasasa has urged women in the Western Division to flock to the venue to witness the talent on show.

"We are hoping the competition will inspire women in the Western Division to take up the sport and also form a team of their own.

"There is a team in the north but they were not able to come for this tournament and we are hoping a team from the west will emerge soon.

"The more teams we have, the better it will be for the development of the sport in the country," she said.

The tournament will be played on Friday and Saturday.