FORMER Super Rugby Auckland Blues and Highlanders back line player, Brian Lima believes the inclusion of a Fijian team in the Super Rugby competition will raise the performance of the Flying Fijian team in international meets because of their weekly exposure in the competition.
Lima highlighted on the consistency of the New Zealand All Blacks team, the Australian Wallabies and the Springboks South African team is the results of the players’ exposure every week in Super Rugby matches.
“If you look at Super Rugby it’s very close to Test rugby and that is why you see South Africa, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and one Japanese national teams’ performance is consistent and that is because of Super Rugby,” said Lima.
“If Super Rugby is kind to Fiji, Samoa and Tonga to be part of the competition then why not because it will lift the standard of rugby in our national team because of the weekly exposure of players during the competition.”
The legendary brutal defender has a colourful rugby career from schools rugby to Super Rugby and French Rugby Top 14 competition and the first rugby player to feature in five Rugby World Cup tournaments.
He said World Rugby should consider the Pacific Island countries in major tournaments that can assist the development of players and be recognised in the world.
“The Pacific Islanders team was a good example and after that two of our players went to New Zealand that was Sitiveni Sivivatu and the late Sione Lauaki who went to play for the All Blacks and if we could be included in some big competitions it would really help us in the Pacific,” Lima said.
Lima also played for Samoa in the world 7s series and he is in the country to support the Pacific Combine program that will be a development phase for the players selected from the Pacific Rugby Challenge Cup last weekend.
