Mind games start

Listen to this article:

The BLK Nadroga rugby team after a training session at Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka. Picture: ERONI TUINUKU

Farebrother Trophy defending champion Nadroga, focuses on players’ wellbeing in the midst of preparation towards the first round of provincial rugby competition.

The first round of the Skipper Cup competition will be a double-header between Nadroga and Suva.

The mind games have started with the Capital City side already looking forward to a historical win against the Stallions.

However, Nadroga Rugby Union president Tiko Matawalu said their focus was to overcome the challenge of ‘Return to Play Protocol.’

“Defending the Farebrother Trophy is not new to us and trying to get our players to be well prepared in four weeks is our focus,” Matawalu said.

“The welfare and safety of our players is paramount and if we can tackle this short-term preparation, then defending the trophy won’t be a problem.”

Suva has a two-year streak defending the Skipper Cup and their focus is to retain the silverware for the third year and the first challenge will be against Nadroga in a double-header at Lawaqa Park.

“Suva is laced with so many talented and gifted players and majority of them came through our system. We are always aware of each other’s capabilities when it comes to preparing for such a match.

“This is going to be an uphill battle for us with minimal time on hand. We have identified a lot of work to be done in this first two to three weeks of preparation.”

Skipper Cup round one fixtures on July 25: Nadroga vs Suva at Lawaqa Park, Sigatoka, Naitasiri vs Lautoka at Ratu Cakobau Park, Nausori, Yasawa vs Nadi at Churchill Park, Lautoka, Namosi vs Tailevu at Thomson Park, Navua.

Array
(
    [post_type] => post
    [post_status] => publish
    [orderby] => date
    [order] => DESC
    [update_post_term_cache] => 
    [update_post_meta_cache] => 
    [cache_results] => 
    [category__in] => 1
    [posts_per_page] => 4
    [offset] => 0
    [no_found_rows] => 1
    [date_query] => Array
        (
            [0] => Array
                (
                    [after] => Array
                        (
                            [year] => 2023
                            [month] => 12
                            [day] => 28
                        )

                    [inclusive] => 1
                )

        )

)

No Posts found for specific category