NADROGA Rugby Union’s campaign to regain its provincial dominance in the sport got off to a flying start last week.
After the dismal performance of the past season, the union said the first event on its 2021 calendar, the Nadroga 10s at Lawaqa Park last weekend, was a success.
“With the review of the Nadroga 10s despite the weather conditions, we are happy with the outcome,” games co-ordinator Talica Dakia said.
“We were able to achieve our target which was to give game time to our players, extended our invitation to outside clubs and fundraise for some of our relatives who were affected by the cyclones.
“We were happy that outside clubs came and spiced up the competition. Teams such as Army Green, Covenant Brothers which won the tournament, teams from Nadi and even Mataso from Ra provided a good mixture of talents. Good rugby skills and talents were displayed from teams within and our visitors.
“We are happy with the crowd and with the aspect of having game time for our players and teams that came from outside.
“The champion Covenant Brothers took home $2000 and they called again to thank us for extending the invitation to them. They said it was a good buildup for them to the Suva 10s tournament this weekend.
“We ran without a sponsor and the only partners we had was The Fiji Times for the coverage, Sound Systems and Hakwa Foundation. Everything else were funded through money from registration fees and gate takings.
“We had 35 open teams and 16 junior grade teams and we operated on a cost of $13,500. Everything was break even and we did not generate much revenue. Nevertheless, we are happy that the program went through,” she said.
