PM’s diplomacy with Australia augurs well for Fijian sports
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama should be commended for strengthening our relationship with Australia. This is going to augur well with the country’s sporting sector especially for our upcoming local-based players or athletes.
For the next five years, Australia will be investing AU$40 million (about FJ$60m) to fund the new PacificAus Sports initiative.
Fiji is among the Pacific Island countries that are to benefit from this Australian programme.
In actual fact, we are already reaping the fruits of it. Firstly, how our local-based rugby players have benefitted from the Fiji Airways Fijian Drua who are now playing in the Australian National Rugby Championship.
The Drua consist of local-based players and taking part in the NRC provides them a pathway to make it to the Fiji Airways Flying Fijians.
The Drua’s participation at the NRC started in 2017 and they won the competition last year.
This resulted in six Drua players- Eroni Mawi, Veremalua Vugakoto, Mesulame Dolokoto, Mosese Voka, Frank Lomani and Alivereti Veitokani making the Flying Fijians’ 31-member squad to the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Not only that, Veitokani and his Drua teammate Albert Tuisue, have now joined London Irish, Dolokoto has signed up with Glasgow Warriors while Lomani is to join Super Rugby club Melbourne Rebels after the World Cup.
Although, things are not going our way in this year’s NRC since we are back on a rebuilding phase, however, the number of talents being displayed after the third round of competition has been nothing short of spectacular.
Such success is also expected when for the first time a Fijian team of local-based rugby league players will play in next year’s Ron Massey’s NSW Cup competition.
But before that, in a much bigger challenge is when these local-based players are going to be part of the Fijian Prime Minister’s XIII that’ll take on the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII at the ANZ Stadium, Suva, on October 11.
The curtain raisers see the Fijian Bulikula (women’s rugby league) playing their Australian counterpart. Leading up to the clash, it’s going to be a week of rugby league’s outreach programme to schools, community and conducting coaching clinics with the general public.
Apart from learning the finer aspects of the game, the general public will be educated on the importance of watching their diet.
This is to address the increasing rate of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the Pacific.
Fiji’s participation in the Ron Massey’s NSW Cup competition has allowed local-based players the opportunity to train under a professional environment and a chance to further their career.
For Fijians, the NRL success of Noa Nadruku, Petero Civoniceva, Lote Tuqiri, Akuila Uate, Api Koroisau, Semi Radradra, Marika Koroibete, Suli Vunivalu, and now Maika Sivo are surely going to motivate them to make it that far.
These are the two sports which are now making their mark in this initiative and we should expect more sports to follow.
Again, lest we forget many of our local-based players would have been frustrated, had we missed out on such initiative by the Australian Government.
LEONE CABENATABUA