A lot of interest is slowly shifting to the resumption of sporting events around the country. In fact there is quite a bit of interest on how soon active competitions can start again.
For now though, attention is focused on the Fijian Drua Super Rugby franchise, which has signed up 20 players out of its targeted 37-member squad for the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific competition.
We learnt this on Monday after the announcement of its first five pioneer players.
The five were Olympic Games gold medallist Napolioni Bolaca, former Fiji U20 captain Tevita Ikanivere, former Fiji 7s forward Nemani Nagusa, Flying Fijians halfback Simione Kuruvoli and New Zealand-based Onisi Ratave.
The Fijian Drua will assemble shortly before October 15, before moving into mandatory quarantine in Australia ahead of their training camp which starts from November 1.
Newcomers to the tough competition, the Drua are targeting a good preparation time leading up to the opening round scheduled for February 18.
We reported Fiji Rugby general manager high performance Simon Raiwalui saying they were starting preparations on November 1 because they would have a young squad with a lot of inexperience at Super Rugby level.
That sets up the team for at least four months to build the team up and be ready for the Super Rugby Pacific competition.
“We have a number of exciting players who have signed up, that is 20 at the moment. On those who have signed, Napolioni Bolaca has his skill set. We are very proud of Tevita Ikanivere and Simione Kuruvoli coming through the high performance pathways with Bill Gadolo and his team grooming these players to be ready for Super Rugby, so those two coming through are very talented,” Raiwalui said.
The Drua are already attracting attention at home as fans anticipate exciting moments in the competition in the new season. We finally have the base that we have always yearned for.
Having a top side in a top competition will have a positive roll-on impact on our game. It will be the base we can build our game from.
This is when we should be able to identify top players, nurture them through a system that empowers them, and develop their skill levels.
This can only be good for our game, and ultimately improve the strength of our Flying Fijians at international level. Finally, our young rugby players have a pathway to develop their game, and aim for higher honours.
The challenge though for the powers that be is to ensure the foundation is set, and the processes and systems are in place to ensure our players can live their dreams.
