Kaji Rugby Ends On a High Note
The 2018 Vodafone Kaji Rugby Tournament held earlier this week saw 52 primary schools from around Fiji take part in the three day tournament at the ANZ Stadium in Suva. First time sponsors, Vodafone Fiji Limited, showed their commitment towards developing rugby at the grassroots level with a huge investment. Vodafone Fiji handled most of the operational and logistical costs in order for the tournament to run smoothly and for all the schools from 32 zones across the country to travel to the main land to participate. For the first time through Vodafone’s sponsorship, costs for the teams’ transportation, accommodation and team kits were covered by Vodafone Fiji Ltd and the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU). FRU CEO John O’Connor highlighted that feedback from parents, supporters and the participants during the tournament were positive and he thanked Vodafone Fiji for their support. “We wanted to give each child the opportunity to play rugby and costs had been a barrier and we are indeed thankful to Vodafone,” Mr O’Connor said. “I would also like to thank the Fiji Primary Schools Rugby executives for their hard work in bringing all the districts and divisions together under the umbrella of the Primary Schools Rugby and for the successfully hosting the tournament.” “This is a great start and we will set higher standards next year.” Mr O’Connor said only the under-12, under-13 and under-14 grades progressed to the national competition while the under-9 to under-11 grades both girls and boys participated in the TAG rugby competition in their different divisions. Meanwhile, the Suva Blues team made a clean sweep of all the Vodafone Kaji rugby titles that were up for grabs. They took out top honors in the U14, U13 and the U12 Grades. In the Tier 2 division, Serua won the U14 grade, Buca Bay the U13 grade and Macuata won the U12 grade. The Vodafone Kaji rugby teams that took part in the competition, were represented from Cakaudrove, Taveuni, Nadroga, Ovalau, Suva, Lautoka, Nasinu, Macuata, Ra, Gau, Waidina, Koro, Wainimala, Rewa, Kadavu, Namosi, Serua, Buca Bay and Navosa.
We wanted to give each child the opportunity to play rugby and costs had been a barrier and we are indeed thankful to Vodafone. John O’Connor, FRU CEO.