The coveted Fiji secondary schools rugby trophy is back.
Yesterday Fiji Rugby Union, its affiliate Fiji Secondary Schools Rugby Union and major sponsor, Vodafone Fiji Ltd, teamed up in bringing back the annual competition after the COVID-19 pandemic halted its proceedings two years ago.
The partnership announced yesterday enabled the competition to resume on Saturday.
Vodafone Fiji Ltd marketing manager Rajnesh Prasad said the company was excited to be the major sponsor for the Deans Trophy competition.
“The Deans Trophy and Kaji Rugby competitions have been the breeding grounds for many rugby greats,” said Prasad.
“This year will no doubt provide future rugby talents. At Vodafone, we want to ensure that students have a solid foundation to further develop their rugby skills and provide them an opportunity to showcase their talents not only nationally, but internationally in the near future.
“We understand the importance of supporting grassroots rugby and our passion for the ‘vanua’ will always stay strong. I wish all the teams the very best for the season and encourage rugby enthusiasts to get behind the future players of Fiji.”
Fiji Rugby Union chairman Humphrey Tawake assured fans that this year’s Deans Trophy competition would be exciting to watch.
With the hiatus of the competition for the past two years, Tawake said spectators would get to see a new breed of young, exciting talents coming through the ranks.
“After a lapse of two years with the absence of secondary schools rugby in the country, rugby fans would be out in numbers to support their different schools this year,” Tawake said.
“We would be witnessing some spectacular rugby out there. We would see new talents and watch exciting players strut their stuff in the sport. All this would not happen without the help of Vodafone Fiji. Rugby is a sport that builds character on and off the field and we are now breeding the next generation of Flying Fijians players to represent our nation on a global scale.”
