A new dawn is on the horizon for Nasinu Secondary School as its under-18 team broke an 11-year jinx in the Fiji Secondary Schools Rugby Union Vodafone Super Deans competition.
Nasinu last made the grand final of the competition in 2012 and has fallen short in the quarter-final after that.
This was put to an end last Saturday by the current side, after surviving a bruising battle against Tailevu North College, to book its spot in the semi-final after a long lapse.
“A new sun is rising for Nasinu,” head coach Mika Yasiyasi stated.
Nasinu is the only team from the Southern Zone to feature in the U18 semi-finals today.
“Before, the target for Nasinu was to be in the quarter-finals and we are trying to create a new story now for our school.
“The last time Nasinu played in the final was 2012, and since then, we have only managed to reach as far as the quarter-finals, but we broke that barrier last week,” Yasiyasi added.
The team admitted that the task is quite a daunting one, especially with an equally hungry opponent in Cuvu College awaiting them.
Cuvu College has had recent success at this level having gone past the semis and played in the final of the competition in 2018.
With this aside, Yasiyasi said playing the match until the final second will be crucial.
“We need to play 70-minute rugby. A team that wants to win in this competition must play the full 70 minutes.
“Tailevu North kept at it during the quarter-finals contesting our lines, challenging our patterns so we have to improve on that in the semi-finals.
“We focused on fitness, body conditioning and strengthening our communication so we can better manage the game,” he said.
The teams meet in the first semi-finals at 3.25pm at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
The second semi-final between Ratu Navula College and Queen Victoria School will kick-off at 5pm.
