Macuata Women Take Up Rugby
For the first time the Macuata Rugby Union is including women as part of their development programme. This is part of the Union’s three year development plan.
Macuata Women rugby head coach Motu Lagalagavesi said the initiative was a partnership with Fiji Rugby Union as they seek to harness talent available in the province.
“There has been a lot of interest from women, especially school leavers,” Lagalagavesi said.
“I think a lot has to do with the Fijiana and their success in the international sevens. This is a good platform for them to be able to one day be part of competition and make the national team.”
Lagalagavesi believes all rugby development for both men and women begin at the grassroots level.
“Schools are the best place to begin developing rugby players. In Fiji, women rugby is a minority sport and we can’t compare ourselves to the boys,” she said. “For development, the boy’s competition starts from kaji level but none for the girls and we need to have that but we are punching above our weight.
“It’s good the women’s competition is now introduced in this year’s Skipper Cup Premier competition as we need skilful players who have knowledge in rugby. “We need to see the girls competing for places like the men.”
She believes that at a young stage, children are more akin to naturally learn the sport which doesn’t come hard on players from the Pacific.
“There is no island in the Pacific that doesn’t know how to play rugby or sevens. There are a lot of untouched raw talents, but the talents go nowhere if the needed guidance is not provided,” she said. “With more programmes to be introduced at the grassroots level for girls, more exposure is needed for schools that have women rugby teams. For Fiji, the rugby pool overflows, there is immense talent and it just needs to be harnessed. “They should be exposed more and sent overseas more to countries like New Zealand and Australia where they can play other schools and develop networks with those schools that have become powerhouses in the men and women’s grades,” she said.
The Macuata Women’s rugby team are hoping to create major upset for the Vodafone Women’s Rugby Cup tournament in Nadi.
Lagalagavesi said: “We’ve selected some experienced players already. It’s just a matter of getting in new players to be able to complement the team,” she said. “Our under- 15, 17 and 19 are aiming to win the three trophies and these girls have been training hard so they could achieve their aim,” she added.
The tournament will be held on December 12 with women teams from around the country are expected to participate.