THE atmosphere at Saturday’s Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific clash in Suva was a vibrant mix of passionate Crusaders and Swire Shipping Fijian Drua supporters.
Amidst the sea of supporters, a family stood out given their custom-made t-shirts one that had George Bower of the Crusaders and Joseva Tamani of the Drua.
Bower and Tamani are closely related and hail from Vagadaci in Levuka.
Veniana Tamani Rabua who was proudly displaying her specially designed shirt explained the reason behind their dual allegiance.
“We are here to support both the Crusaders and the Drua. As you can see, we have our custom-made T-shirts for our warriors,” she shared.
Rabua and her family are the ‘bati leka’, or traditional warriors, of the Tui Levuka.
The family’s divided loyalty stemmed from a strong personal connection to both players.
“Because we are very closely related to George and Jo, we will be supporting both teams. Jo is my nephew, while George is my grand-nephew, the grandson of my cousin,” she added
Now residing in Suva, Rabua expressed gratitude to the Tui Vagadaci and the people of their village, those present and those watching from afar, including relatives across the globe who have bought their custom-made t-shirts.
