The Fiji Times

Skipper Cup: Naitasiri lead points table

Naitasiri rugby team currently leads the points table after the second round of the Skipper Cup competition. They lead with nine points, Farebrother Sullivan Trophy holders Namosi at second place with eight points while Nadroga, Suva and Tailevu share five points. However due to points differences, the Stallions are ranked third and the capital side...

Semi Radradra has come a long way in becoming rugby’s golden wonder

LONDON, 03 AUGUST 2020 (THE DAILY MAIL UK)—It was a single photograph capturing Semi Radradra’s meteoric stride that brought him to the attention of rugby’s top scouts. The image marked the beginning of a transition from a very different life. At the time, Radradra had been working down the Vatukoula gold mines in Fiji. Workers...

Dan Carter recognises ‘old-man calves’ may prevent Blues appearance

Dan Carter has conceded he might not appear for the Blues at all in Super Rugby Aotearoa, with the side only having one more game remaining in domestic competition. The 112-test former All Blacks first five, 38, signed for the Blues as injury cover and had been pencilled in on their bench for a 18 July match...

Blues keep Super Rugby Aotearoa title race alive

Finlay Christie scored an early try in each half as the Blues beat the Highlanders 32-21 in their Super Rugby Aotearoa clash in Dunedin on Sunday to keep the race for the domestic title still alive. The Blues’ victory moved them to 22 points, two behind the table-topping Crusaders. Leon Macdonald’s side, however, have just...

Suva digs deep to beat Yasawa

Champions Suva had to fight tooth and nail to down a spirited Yasawa side 10-3 in their Skipper Cup clash at the ANZ Stadium in Suva yesterday. The champions only managed to score two unconverted tries in each half while the Yasawa side’s points came through the boots of national 7s star Napolioni Ratu in...

Naitasiri wins to retain cup lead

Naitasiri proved too strong after beating Jack’s Nadi 23-8 in their Skipper Cup clash at Ratu Cakobau Park in Nausori yesterday. Naitaisiri coach Ilaitia Tuisese Jr said they were unlucky not to have come away with a bonus point, but were happy for the win. We got that “W” and a big squad and still...

Assault-accused Wellington rugby player allowed back on field

A Wellington rugby player up in court on assault charges has been allowed back on the field while the two players he is accused of attacking are still suffering and unable to play. The Tawa player – charged with assault with intent to injure two Pōneke players – was given interim name suppression when he...

Lawrence Dallaglio rates Richie McCaw world’s greatest openside flanker

England’s World Cup winning backrower Lawrence Dallaglio has rated Richie McCaw’s the world’s greatest openside flanker ahead of All Blacks predecessor Michael Jones. The Kiwi pair topped Dallaglio’s list of the 10 top No 7s in world rugby in a feature series in The Times. Former England flyhalf Stuart Barnes also selected McCaw as his...

James Lowe, the New Zealand rugby star who could play against the All Blacks

Like many kids growing up in New Zealand, James Lowe wanted to become an All Black. He never considered the prospect of playing against them for another country. And yet, Lowe is set to realise his dream of playing international rugby later this year. But not be his country of birth. The former Chiefs and...

Namosi upsets Nadroga to claim Farebrother trophy

The Namosi rugby side is the new holder of the Farebrother Trophy after defeating Nadroga 15-8 at Lawaqa Park this afternoon. Namosi led 10-3 at half-time. Both teams scored a try each in the second spell. Nadroga tried hard to score in the dying stages and tie the score but resilient defense from Namosi saw...

Skipper Cup: Naitasiri beats Nadi

Naitasiri raised the tempo in the second half to secure their second win of the season beating Jack’s Nadi 23-8 during their Skipper Cup clash at Ratu Cakobau Park today. Naitasiri scored two tries through prop forward Solomone Navuso and open side flanker Tomasi Naiduki. Naitasiri pivot and Fiji Warriors player Tuidraki Samusamuvodre added two...

Skipper Cup: Naitasiri and Nadi tied at half-time

A tight contest has Jack’s Nadi and Naitasiri in a 5 all draw at half-time during their Skipper Cup clash at Ratu Cakobau Park today. Nadi fullback Navitalai Tuilawa scored first in the opening minutes with Naitasiri flyhalf Tuidraki Samusamuvodre equalising before the break. Both tries were unconverted.

Super Rugby: Hurricanes confident of retaining Jordie Barrett, wait and see on Julian Savea

The Hurricanes are confident they can retain Jordie Barrett as other New Zealand teams circle, while club legend Julian Savea must turn heads in the next fortnight if he’s to be offered a deal in 2021. Flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi was the latest Hurricanes contract extension announced on Friday, with the 23-year-old signing until the end...

Match Day: Nadroga to host Namosi in second challenge

If last week’s 15-13 win over is anything to go by for Nadroga, today’s challenge against Namosi doesn’t get any easier. Nadroga had the fighting spirit and crowd support which led them to successfully retain the Farebrother Trophy last weekend. The Stallions are aware that Namosi would have watched the video footage of that match...

Fiji 7s players to assist Nadroga at home

THE BLK Nadroga rugby team has injected five national 7s squad members into their training squad preparing to face Namosi in the second Farebrother Sullivan trophy/Skipper Cup double header tomorrow at Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka. Nadroga head coach Esala Nauga confirmed the five players were part of this week’s preparation and he’s likely to make...

Fijians out of Cape Town

The Fiji mens’s 7s team and Fijiana women’s team will not feature at the Dubai and Cape Town 7s. This after World Rugby has decided to cancel both tournaments because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper said the safety and wellbeing of the players would always be their priority. “While...

Marist 7s to be held in September

The Fiji Bitter Marist 7s tournament has been rescheduled to kick-off in September. The president of the Marist 7s tournament Lawrence Tikaram and his team is looking forward to hosting another historical tournament that unearths future rugby stars. “We will be relaunching the Fiji Bitter Marist 7s tournament on September 24,25 and 26 at the...

Suva Rugby local club competition has new sponsors

A boost for the Suva Rugby Union club competition with Digicel Fiji signing as major sponsors on a three year contract today at the Digicel head office in Nabua. Digicel Fiji chief executive officer Farid Mohammed said it was exciting times for them, joining Suva Rugby as sponsors. We are delighted to be a part...

World Rugby rubber stamps revamped Rugby Championship in New Zealand

World Rugby approved a five-week window for the Rugby Championship to be played in New Zealand in November and December. The coronavirus pandemic has restricted airline travel and closed borders, causing the cancellation of the big southern hemisphere teams’ annual tours of Europe. Those teams -_ Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – will...

Russia’s surprise bid to host 2027 Rugby World Cup

Russia are eyeing a surprise bid to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup with the backing of President Vladimir Putin. The Russian union confirmed they are preparing the bid for rugby’s showpiece event. With Argentina pulling out of the race earlier this year, favourites Australia will now cast a wary eye on the rugby minnows...

Mocenacagi to debut for Nadroga in double header tomorrow

Fiji 7s team utility player Sevuloni Mocenacagi will make his debut appearance for the Nadroga rugby team when they take on Namosi tomorrow for the Farebrother/Skipper Cup double header clash at Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka. Mocenacagi will don the number 13 jersey on Saturday for the Stallions as they defend the holy grail of Fiji...

Super Rugby: Jaguares let best players in Argentina go

The President of the Argentine Rugby Union, Marcelo Rodriguez, said the cancellation of the 2020 edition of Super Rugby and the subsequent loss of TV, sponsorship and ticket revenue, meant there was no way to keep their best players in Argentina. “We had to be straight with the players so they know the situation, with...

150th anniversary: ‘Great open Fijian rugby’

In 1964, rugby writer John Reed described one of the games he was reporting on as the “greatest spectacle of adventurous running rugby the Arms Park has ever seen”. That game at Arms Park, also known as the Cardiff Arms Park, which Reed was referring to was between Wales and Fiji, the result of which...

Nadi works on retaining possession ahead of Naitasiri clash

Retaining possession is one area that the Nadi team has been working on ahead of its second Skipper Cup clash against Naitasiri at Ratu Cakobau Park in Nausori this Saturday. Nadi defeated newcomers Yasawa 17-7 in the opening round at Churchill Park in Lautoka last week. The Jetsetters had their fair share of possession however...

Nagusa assists Tailevu

The Tailevu rugby team’s preparation for the second round of the Skipper Cup is being boosted with the presence of former Flying Fijians utility back Timoci Nagusa who has been assisting the coaches ahead of the game against Lautoka at Churchill Park. Tailevu head coach Solo Nute is aware of the experience Nagusa has and...

WR supports Pacific teams

The Fiji Rugby Union has received with open arms moves by World Rugby to support a Pacific team in Super Rugby and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) including Fiji in the revised Six nations tournament which begins in November. The Telegraph UK yesterday reported that World Rugby chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont is open to the...

Tuimaba and Botitu leave for France

Fiji 7s winger Aminiasi Tuimaba and rover Filimoni Botitu departed this morning at the Nadi International Airport for their contract in France. Fiji Rugby Union chief executive officer John O’Connor confirmed that the duo jetted off this morning to be part of the Top 14 rugby competition in France. Tuimaba had signed up for Pau...

Black Fern Sosoli Talawadua takes game back to her Whanganui roots

The young girls in the new Whanganui Metro rugby team naturally look up to the Black Fern in their midst, Sosoli Talawadua. But the World Cup winner and veteran rugby front rower shies away from the admiration. “I’ve had a couple of messages from the girls saying they look up to me. But I try...

Welsh rugby great Graham Price hails Andy Haden despite infamous lineout dive

Welsh rugby legend Graham Price says Andy Haden’s lineout dive was “unfair”, but the late All Blacks lock deserves to be remembered as “a great player”. Price played tighthead prop for Wales in their controversial 13-12 loss to the All Blacks in Cardiff in 1978, when Haden – who died in Auckland on Wednesday after...

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