Oz, Kiwis to join: Oceania Rugby – tournament director

The Oceania Women’s Rugby Championship is likely to accommodate Australia and New Zealand come next year, says Oceania Rugby tournament director Wayne Schuster. “Last time we had the Oceania Women’s Championship was in 2016 and that’s where Papua New Guinea and Fiji played against each other for the title and that was the first one,” he said. “This time around we are delighted to have four teams participating and we expect this tournament to grow annually given the amount of energy in the growth of women’s rugby.” Schuster said Oceania Rugby is committed to promoting and growing women’s rugby in the region.

“This is a pathway which is to develop that interest in growth. Currently that is happening and we expect New Zealand A and Australia A to take part in this competition by next year.

“So it’s really going have a regional look about it in terms of the teams that are participating. “And November is intended to become the important month for women’s rugby where we stage this tournament,” Schuster continued on.

“We have got a good number of New Zealand and Australian based Samoan and Tongan players that have made their way here to Fiji to participate. So we can expect a really good lift. That’s interesting for us because as you move along we are well aware of what’s been happening around the men’s eligibility and capping it so forth.

“We expect to see all of that in the women’s with a lot of New Zealand and Australian based players. We will certainly keep our eye out for who will be participating for the Pacific Island nations.

“We are committed and looking forward to making this tournament achieves its purpose and we are thankful to the Fiji Rugby Union for their commitment in hosting it as well.

“With the logistics we are facing, it is just the amount of teams that we are going to have them. “Teams like Cook Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia some of these nations now have got women’s rugby going so it will be an interesting challenge for us in the next couple of years to see how we best format this competition.”

TODAY’S GAMES

1pm: ManuSina v Tonga 3pm: Fijiana XV v PNG

Photo: Oceania Rugby Fiji Airways Fijiana XV winger Ana Maria Roqica makes a tackle against Tonga during the Oceania Women’s Rugby Championship at Churchill Park, Lautoka on November 16, 2018.