Two Scouted by NZ Schools Here
Two AJ Pallet Ba River Under 18 sevens players have secured rugby scholarships following their participation in the 2022 World school 7s tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, last weekend.
Coach Josefa Vunisa confirmed to SunSports that winger Vilimoni Gadolo Jr and Ratu Kadavulevu School number eight Mosese Taramecegu have caught the attention of the Wesley College scouts for their 2023 programme.
“This is the beauty of grassroots rugby, these two are local village boys from Ba who would be soon moving to New Zealand to grow their game,” Vunisa said.
“Only one player in the side has played in the Fiji schools Dean’s competition. Taking part in the World schools 7s was huge; to leave Ba, fly in an aeroplane and play in New Zealand was a huge break for all of them.
“Most of them are brought up by single parents. Some of them dropped out of school because they were academically slow. They have many challenging stories but one thing they had in common was that they love playing rugby.”
Vunisa reiterated that the Ba U18 players were products of local grassroots rugby as they played football and rugby around the cane fields of Ba.
The side was endorsed by Fiji Rugby Union to participate in the world meet. They were in Pool G alongside Samoan Barbarians, and Nauru.
Other teams in the tournament included Australia, Niue Nukututaha, NZ Barbarians One New Zealand Warriors, Australian Cavalier, Canada, Tonga Barbarian, NZ Fijiians and South African Barbarians.
The Ba side hammered Nauru 40-0 in their opening match, and defeated Samoa Warriors 14-10 in their second pool game.
They topped the pool and played in the cup quarterfinal. They fell short in the eliminations.
The team defeated NZ Warriors 2412 in the bowls quarter-final; they beat NZ Fijians 21-15 in the bowls semi-final.
“The management and elders of the team believed in them despite their shortfalls, they trusted the club’s development.
“This tournament was good exposure, it was an eye opener.”
Over the years, the Ba side has produced some top rugby players like Gaberieli Naborisi, and his son Pio Tuwai, brothers Josua Tuisova, and Filipo Nakosi.
The list includes Fiji Airways 7s captain Waisea Nacuqu, and Sorokoba flyer Filimoni Delasau.