We are sure that all followers of Ba Rugby will have seen the score of last week’s Skipper Cup match with Tailevu.
“Saturday 16 August 2025 was a truly historic day for Ba Rugby,” exclaimed BRU Secretary Gaby Kautoga. “Vinod Patel Ba’s 24-13 victory over Tailevu was our first ever – and what a performance by the boys!”
“We know that Ba was the first place in Fiji where rugby was played – way back in 1884 – and we know we have been very visible in the last couple of years with our progress… but we still hadn’t beaten one of the bigger teams, until now.”
In Ba’s first season in the Skipper Cup in 2024, they beat Yasawa and Macuata at home but lost the other eight games, including all the away fixtures.
“Last year, we played some good rugby in parts of games, but we were inconsistent and lost several matches that we could have won.”
“After defeats in the opening two rounds, we picked up some doubters… people questioning us on social media, others criticizing the personnel. We thought that was quite harsh as this is all so new to us.”
Kautoga explained that after the loss to Malolo the Union had an urgent meeting to sort out some internal issues; and the result is what we saw on the field.
By comparison, Tailevu have been in the top flight since 1993 and have previously won the Telecom Fiji Cup and the Sullivan Farebrother Trophy.
“Now, Ba has arrived,” Talatala Gaby said.
“It wasn’t just the victory, it was the manner – a resolute defence with the boys tackling, tackling, tackling until the final whistle. And for the first time this season, our backs showed what they could do by running in those two long tries to win the match at the end.”
“The way the boys played, tackled and fought as a team not only gives us immense pride but shows that we can go into the games ahead with renewed confidence.”
Toge halfback Willy Ryland kicked four first-half penalties to give Ba a 12-8 lead at the break, though Tailevu hit back to lead 13-12 with 10 minutes to play.
After being on the back foot for most of the half, the backs finally kicked into gear. Ryland took a quick tap on his 22, made a dash, fed fly-half Manasa Seruisavou who shimmied and stepped past halfway before offloading to Bill Scott on the wing.
With one man to beat, Scott went for the little chip-kick and it worked a treat. He caught the ball on his fingertips, gathered in and planted it over the try-line.
To wrap things up, fullback Jovesa Vuase sprinted from virtually his own line to score right in the corner. And, proverbially, the fans went wild.
Several short videos are on the BRU Facebook page that show the winning tries, one of which has been viewed more than one million times and reflects the excitement of all the Ba supporters who travelled down to Nausori for the game.
“We are now finding fans of Ba Rugby all over Fiji. People from Ba living in other provinces who in the past didn’t really follow Ba Rugby are now tuning in and watching and cheering on everything the boys do.”
Kautoga noted that with this added support comes extra responsibility.
“We need to follow this up with some more wins in the next few rounds. But for now, we are still smiling,” he beamed.
The Fiji Pine Under 20s picked up their second consecutive bonus-point win, defeating Tailevu 36-15 to left them to fourth in the table.
The tournament now takes a two-week break then begins again on 6 September when Ba travel to Sigatoka to face Nadroga.
