Fijiana Drua rechristening

THE Fiji Rugby Union is working on finding a new name for the Fijiana Drua that epitomises a Fijian woman.

This follows requests for the Fijiana to move away from the Drua name which is taken up by the men’s team competing in the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific competition

FRU acting chief executive officer Tevita Tuiloa confirmed there were plans to change the Fijiana Drua name and they were working with the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs on finding a perfect match.

“There were a few names suggested by the iTaukei Affairs that the (FRU) board is actually looking at but unfortunately because the competition is starting on the 25th of March, we did not have enough time to change the name because of all the branding and merchandises,” Tuiloa said.

“So we are hoping to get that approved in the April annual general meeting.

“It is about finding the right iTaukei name that fits a Fijian woman. That is the challenge we are putting to the iTaukei Affairs if they can find a dynamic, agile, robust iTaukei name to match that.”

While not elaborating on what names have been put forward, he said they were trying to find a name that was unique to Fiji.

“We are trying to link it to species or animals that are endemic to Fiji,” he said.

“Obviously, the Drua was a sensible choice because we are mostly ocean people and we are on a journey to take Fiji rugby to the next level. “There were a couple of names which I cannot disclose for a number of obvious reasons, that is a decision to be made by the board and that will be made in due course.”

The Fijiana Drua won the Super W title in its inaugural year last year – remaining unbeaten throughout the season.

The side faces the Brumbies in their opening match at Prince Charles Park in Nadi on March 25.

The FRU annual general meeting will be held in April.

THE Fiji Rugby Union will look to introduce an under-18 competition to help players get more game time before representing the country at international age-group level tournaments.

The move follows concerns over the Fiji schoolboys performance during last year’s Oceania Championship. The side, made up of players from the Fiji Secondary Schools Rugby Union (FSSRU) Deans competition, was beaten by Australia 58-5, Argentina 61-5 and New Zealand 74-5.

Fiji Rugby Union acting chief executive officer Tevita Tuiloa said after assessing the team management’s report, it was decided to trial a new under-18 competition this year. However, changes to the school term have set back plans.

“They (FSSRU) had a plan for this year but unfortunately the school terms went back to three. We were excited to trial a new under-18 competition but that cannot happen in the three terms,” Tuiloa said.

“Probably moving forward and with consultations with the Ministry of Education, we will have to work out how best we can grow that level of competition.

“That really stemmed out from the thrashing that the Fiji secondary schools team had last year and that is purely because of the number of games.

“If you look at New Zealand, the number of games that they play is quite big. When they reach the national team or provincial teams, they already have a good base of games to come off on. “If we can have that for Fiji secondary schools.”

He also urged affiliates unions to run their own junior competitions outside the national level.

Meanwhile, during the FRU special general meeting at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva last week, the 2023 calendar was passed.

Tuiloa said the 24 provincial unions, secondary and primary schools and the referees unions were in attendance.

“I think there was a lot of dynamic and robust discussions, especially planning around our 2023 rugby calendar as well as our terms of participation.

“The women’s competitions will start in March and provincial in June.”