2022 Top Sports Performers
We are a day away from welcoming 2023. Looking back it has been hectic year for sports in the country. After two years of non-activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, we were back in full swing. Our first year in Super Rugby, our athletes performance at the Pacific Mini Games and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games followed by the Sevens Rugby World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. Not forgetting the Super W and the women Rugby World Cup where our Fijiana XVs made their debut.
Locally, the Coca-Cola Games, the Vodafone Deans Trophy, Skipper Fiji Rugby Championship, Digicel Premier League and so on.
So, let’s take a look at our top performers for the year.
■ Sports Man of the Year: Jerry Tuwai (Sevens Rugby)
With two Olympic Games gold medals in the bag, Tuwai, this year, added the Sevens Rugby World Cup (Melrose Cup) to his collection. He narrowly missed out on winning our first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
They managed to win a silver medal and this has rated Tuwai the country’s greatest sevens rugby player of all time.
■ Sports Woman of the Year: Naibili Vatunisolo (Paralympics)
The 31-year-old defied all odds to win a bronze medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
In her preparation, she only received bus fare assistance compared to the thousands of dollars allocated to other sports, whose athletes failed to win a medal.
And not only that, Vatunisolo was forced in the eleventh hour to change her event from ambulant women’s javelin to discus. This did not deter her to win a medal. Earlier, this year, she won the gold medal in the ambulant women’s javelin at the Mini Pacific Games in Saipan, Northern Marianas. Vatunisolo was recently ranked world’s Number One in the Women’s Class 42 in shotput and javelin and Number Two in discus.
She hails from Balenabelo, Koroinasau, Nadroga.
■ Team of the Year: Fijian Drua (Rugby)
After waiting for 25 years, the country finally got its own rugby team playing in the Super Rugby competition.
This was despite the many challenges impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The Drua was made-up of localbased players along with a handful of Fijian players playing in Australia and New Zealand competitions. As first-timers, the Drua looked shaky at the start but as the Super Rugby Pacific competition continued, they soon found their mojo and recorded two wins and had narrow losses against top teams like the Reds, Highlanders, Blues and Chiefs.
The popularity of the Drua, boosted the country’s economy with sellout crowds in their two home matches along with the opening of the team’s homebase in Nadi. Next year, the Drua is hosting six home matches with overseas fans coming over to watch as well.
■ Youth Team of the Year: Fiji Under-19 (Football)
The Ronil Lal-coached Fijian U19 side has booked their spot in next year’s FIFA U20 World Cup in Indonesia. The Fijians beat New Caledonia 1-0 in the semifinal but lost to New Zealand in the final.
Top teams New Zealand and Fiji are representing Oceania to the World Cup.
Promising Athlete of the Year: Taniela Rainibogi (Weightlifting) He restored the country’s pride in the sport winning the bronze medal in the men’s 96kg category at this year’s Commonwealth Games. Rainibogi lifted a total 155kg in the snatch and 343kg in the lean and jerk.
The 24-year-old’s next mission is to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France.
■ Coach of the Year: Senirusi Seruvakula (Women Rugby)
In their first year, Seruvakula coached the Fijiana Drua to win the Super W title.
Our women took on top Australian women’s teams like the Waratahs, Reds, Brumbies, Force and Rebels where they maintained an unbeaten record.
Seruvakula, then coached the Fijiana XVs side to their first Women’s Rugby World Cup in Auckland, New Zealand, where they upset South Africa during pool play.
They finished ninth out 12 in the World Cup, not bad for a first timer.
■ Sports Administrator of the Year: Brian Thorburn (Rugby)
The man who worked tirelessly behind the scene to make our Super Rugby dream a reality.
The former interim Drua chief executive officer took on the challenge to put in place structures to build up the Drua club. He has done wonders and now the Drua is in a much better place when it first started, with newly appointed CEO Mike Evans taking it to the next level.
Thorburn has many stories to tell of the challenges they had faced in the beginning. It was things like
shifting the team’s training base to Lennox Head in New South Wales, Australia, to counter the global impact of COVID-19 and the flooding in NSW, which resulted in the team changing their training base and or havingto travel at night through the countryside to make it in time for their Super Rugby matches.
■ Notable Achievements
■ Marist Brothers High School Under-18 rugby team ending the school’s 44-year drought by lifting the Vodafone Deans Trophy at Churchill Park, Lautoka.
A Veremo Waqanidrola penalty gave MBHS a narrow 9-8 win over Suva Grammar School in the Cup final.
■ Suva Grammar School athletics team back to hoist the Coca-Cola Games boys’ title after a lapse of 11 years. Grammar won 11 gold medals, six silver and six bronze to top the medal tally while Adi Cakobau School retained the girls’ title.