International referees Tevita Rokovereni and Lavenia Racaca were the toasts of the night at the inaugural Fiji Rugby Referees Awards on Saturday when they were presented the awards for Male and Female Referee of the Year respectively.
Rokovereni received the award from Fiji Rugby Union chairman John Sanday and Racaca received hers from Miss Fiji, Dr. Peggy Ravusiro.
Rokovereni delivered a simple yet impactful message to young referees when interviewed by the media.
“You get knocked down a couple of times, but you stand up, fight hard and that’s life.,” he said.
For Racaca, she said tears formed in her eyes when she heard her name announced, as her mother’s absence in the cherished moment was deeply felt.
Her mother could not attend the inaugural ceremony due to an injury.
