From being teased and called names for representing Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School in rugby, the school’s under-17 boys’ team and the under-18 girls’ team overcame barriers to reach the pinnacle of secondary school rugby in Fiji.
In just their first year of playing in the Vodafone Deans Trophy Competition, the MGM boys’ and girls’ team reached the finals – a mind-boggling achievement for first-timers in the school’s 15s rugby annual competition.
Despite backlash from rivals on the field the MGM rugby teams endured, proving that anything is possible through sheer determination and hardwork. The toil paid off, silencing out the voices that often taunted them for representing the school.
Last week the Gujarat Education Society (GES), the school management, staff members and parents rallied behind the team to thank them for their tremendous effort in winning the U17 trophy and being runner-up in the Raluve competition.
Each player and their coaches were presented with awards from the Gujarat Education Society president, Kamlesh Kumar and vice president, Jitesh Patel during the event.
The MGM U17 captain, James Liga thanked the Lord for bringing them all together.
“To the players, thank you very much for the handwork and the effort that you have all put in, out there on the field,” he said.
“This is the first time for us to participate in the Deans competition and it wasn’t an easy journey for us – both the girls and boys team.
“I’m so proud that we have achieved a lot so far, even in our debut year we have achieved something great that no one ever thought we could achieve.
“We started from the bottom and we pushed ourselves and have reached the top.
“We have been through a lot as a team with people teasing us, but it’s that same team that has made it to the final.
“For the girls, thank you very much for the effort even though the team didn’t win the Raluve trophy –as your brothers we’re proud of you all.
“We have another year next year and we hope it will be a great year for all of us.”
He also thanked the GES members, the parents and teachers for their endless support.
The U18 MGM girls’ team captain, Carletta Yee shared about their experience as newbies in the competition. She said when they started training, 90 per cent of the squad that trained was playing rugby for the first time in their lives.
“The intriguing part of our participation was that no one in the Southern Zone expected our participation until the last hour of registration,” Yee said.
“We managed to win all our games, except the final.”
She thanked the school management, administration, the teachers and parents for their support in their journey. The teams head coach, Koroi Matadigo said he is thankful for the school, the staff members and the students.
He said he was proud of what the boys and girls teams have achieved. “It not only puts the name of the school in the rugby arena but we will continue to be good ambassadors of this institution,” he said.
He thanked the girls for their tremendous effort in the Raluve competition and that he was super proud of the boys too.
“We have one more year to go but before that we have to come to school every day and pass our exams,” he told the players. He thanked the school, the Gujarati community, the teachers and students for accepting them with open arms.
The celebration was held at the school last week.
