For 27-year-old Mary Kanace, the opportunity to represent her country of heritage is one she has been working towards since she first started playing rugby.
The New Zealand-born is one of the four debutants in the Vodafone Fijiana XV side preparing to compete at the WXV 3 Tournament in Dubai from October 15.
“I started playing rugby when I was 16 years old, and I have always wanted to represent my country of heritage because my family is strong Fiji rugby supporters,” the Naitasiri lass shared.
She mentioned part of her interest in rugby was associated with her being related to former Flying Fijian flanker Waisiki Masirewa.
“My uncle, Masirewa, used to play for the Flying Fijians, so that kind of sparked my interest in rugby from a young age.”
“Seeing someone from your family out there playing rugby in the international arena just sparks a different interest.”
The Linwood Bulls fullback said balancing work and rugby over the past few years has not been easy for her.
“I started working at a young age as well, so I had to balance both, rugby and work.”
However, Kanace saw rugby as an opportunity to improve her mental and physical health through training sessions during the week and matches in the weekends.
“My rugby career has been through so many ups and downs, but I am very happy that I have managed to make my way into the Fijiana.”
Kanace, who is a Lance Corporal in the New Zealand Army, said her parents were “over the moon” in excitement after finding out that she had been approached by Inoke Male, Fijiana XV’s head coach, to join the squad.
“They were all very excited because they are all die-hard Fiji rugby fans.”
Kanace described the past few weeks with the Fijiana XV side as a learning experience as they prepared for the WXV 3 tournament.
“Though language may be a barrier, the girls have been very kind to me and are very supportive as well. They’re even helped in teaching me some basic iTaukei language as well. I have also learned so much and I have enjoyed my experience here so far.”
