No shortcut to success
Te’s dream run continues
FIJI”S very own renowned referee is off to Tokyo to officiate at the Olympics in the Women’s 7s competition in Japan next month.
Tevita Rokovereni, commonly known as Te, hails from Matamaivere Village, in Namara, Tailevu.
The 32-year-old said being a referee had taken him to places that he never dreamt off.
“To begin with, I’m currently employed by the National Fire Authority as a professional fire-fighter,” he said.
“Secondly, in terms of refereeing, it all started after my cousin Joeli Tubu, who was a former Fiji Rugby Union referee introduced me to rugby officiating way back in 2008 and from there I never looked back till today.
“Rugby refereeing has taken me to many places which I’ve never dreamt of visiting and many thanks to God, Fiji Rugby, Oceania Rugby and World Rugby for giving me the opportunity and platform to showcase my God given talent.”
Te added he looked up to James Bolabiu for inspiration to follow his footsteps and to achieve the standard for Fijian match Officiating.
“What has always motivated me was the challenge to be the best version of myself not only on but off the field as well.
“Support has been great from the family and last year was hard as I lost my mum who was always a pillar of strength, who is always eager to watch my games and give me feedback (which were mostly positive criticisms), therefore I’m glad that I have a very supportive family who understand my line of work and I’m un-doubtfully indebted to their help and encouragement over the years.
“There’s no shortcut to success or achieving your goals, hence there’s always one too many bumps along the way, which as I said earlier I’ve used it as a motivating tool, in turning my goals into reality.
“One of the key aspects is mental challenges which is a vital aspect of a fast contact sport like rugby, hence the need for match officials to be mentally switched on and ready for every moment in the game and make decisions in a split of a second.
“As our decisions greatly impact the outcome of the game, hence I need to be in a top mental state to be a high performance match official.
“To achieve this I need to be physically fit as it is only when you’re in your best physical condition you’re able to have mental toughness to make decisions when under fatigue and a lot of pressure.”
He shared that players need to adhere and be familiar with international rules.
“There’s no common trend as players tend to infringe different parts of the laws of the game every now and again but generally speaking in Fiji, dangerous tackles (including high/lifting/spear tackles are the most obvious ones and that is one of our key focus areas these past years with the coaches in trying to get this out of our game and changing players behaviours’ and habits so that we have a cleaner game)
“I understand that all Fijian kids dream of donning the white jersey and represent the nation in rugby. I once had that dream, however we will not all be wearers of that Jersey and there’s many other ways we can represent our nation.
“To all youths out there, rugby match officiating is another way you can represent the country in the great game we all love.
“Yes, there will be challenges and there would be moments where you would think twice or thrice about choosing this hobby, however with a little patience, resilience and perseverance you would find that above all else you get the best seat in the house and getting involved with the great game we all love.”