Journey and smiles

Floyd Robinson, Nasese

Some say the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step but once completed, the smiles live on.

Congratulations to Noa Nadruku and Collins Injera for being inducted into the Rugby Walk of Fame at Sigatoka Town. From a country previously not synonymous with rugby 7s, Injera led his countrymen in many international 7s tournaments.

They are now a force to be reckoned with in the HSBC Sevens Series. Like Fiji, they are great entertainers on the rugby pitch.

A big vinaka to the organisers of the McDonald’s Coral Coast Sevens tournament for bringing over this gentleman from a land so far away. Thank you for looking beyond Australia and New Zealand.

Based on his smiles in pictures with women from Nahautabu Village, one can say that Injera is experiencing and enjoying Fijian culture. Nadruku may have aged, but he still has the look of a powerful and rugged player. Nadruku was part of the first team of players from Fiji to switch to rugby league at a time when many local fans became upset as they were simply too used to rugby union. We loved him delivering those bone crunching tackles in 1990 as Fiji took New Zealand by surprise in Hong Kong. We feared losing him to a strange game of rugby.

This man from Nadroga cemented his spot in the famous Australian Rugby League club, Canberra Raiders, within a short span of time and commenced a high rate scoring per game.

In the end, it opened new windows of opportunities and hope for many of our young men as they gradually took up rugby league. Congratulations again to Nadruku and Injera. Appreciation to their contributions to the game of 7s rugby and for now, they have every reason to smile.