THE support of the vanua is one of the key to Nadroga’s dominance of the sport of rugby in the country for decades.
This was confirmed by former Nadroga and Flying Fijians fly half Dan Lobendahn during an interview at his shop in Lami.
Dan, as he was commonly known to his friends and rugby mates, said the support from the vanua for the Nadroga rugby team was what kept them ticking.
“First and foremost was the support of the vanua. And you add the spirit of the people and their passion for the game,” he said.
“Plus they do appreciate their players even when you not from Nadroga.
“For players from outside Nadroga, they make you feel you’re part of them and the vanua.
“It’s a bit different from when you come from a cosmopolitan place like Suva. For Suva it’s that comradeship among the players in the team that makes them tick.
“When you play at the old Lawaqa Park and it’s a full house, oh boy, if you’re from Suva, you’re a marked man.”
Lobendahn donned the Nadroga colours for five years.
The nippy playmaker started his career with the St John Marist Rugby Club before he was selected to join the Suva team and later the national team.
Playing provincial rugby in those days was not for the faint-hearted.
“There was a lot of passion in the rivalry among the provincial teams,” Lobendahn said.
“When you are a small man like me weighing only nine stone nine pounds (63kg) and you have someone like Jo Sovau, Nimilote Ratudina or Nasivi Ravouvou (all weigh more than 100kg) come after your or when a 20 stone (127kg) winger Setareki Varo runs at you, what do you do?
“And these big guys don’t have pot belly, they’re just big human beings, like giants.”
Lonbendahn said training was also different during their playing days.
“If you thought playing was tough, training was more tougher,” he said.
“Training at that time was very different from what rugby players now do.
“Our coach at that time, Inoke Tabualevu, would tell us to do a 20-lap run around Albert Park even before we start training.
“Even before the coach’s order could register in your brain, you heart goes from here (he points to his chest) to here (he points to his backside),” he added with a cheeky smile.
“You going to be thinking how the hell am I gonna run 20 laps around Albert Park. And for me, such a small person and competing with the big players in the team. But when you go and do the training in sand hills, that’s a different story altogether. It’s all about attitude.”
After a few years playing in the Capital City, Lobendahn changed allegiance in 1974 as he joined the Nadroga rugby team.
“In 1973 I got transferred to Beachcomber Hotel in Pacific Harbour from Suva Travelodge,” he said.
“I had a problem because to come to train with the Suva team will take me about 2 hours 15 minutes on the old road.
“I talked with the Suva officials about the difficulties I was facing but nothing was done.
“At the beginning of 1974 while working one day, I got a surprise visit from some Nadroga players such as Meli Kurisaru, Rupeni Qaraniqio, Isimeli Batibasaga and Wame Gavidi.
“I was astounded as at that time nobody knew my situation but inside I had a feeling my career was about to be over and I was starting to think about my future.
“So I called them in and they said they were coming to ask me to play for Nadroga.” Lobendahn said he asked them, if they wanted him to play, what about Wame as he was the top fly half for Nadroga at that time.
“They told me they will push Wame to second five to allow me to play fly half. So that was it, my spot in the team was sealed,” he said.
“So my question to them was, how will I go to Sigatoka every weekend to play, they said don’t worry we will organise for a rental car to bring me down.”
Lobendahn never trained with the Nadroga team at the start of his career with the Stallions.
“I trained on my own in Pacific Harbour, but on game day I went to join the team wherever they play, be it in Lautoka, Suva, Nausori or in Nadroga,” he said.
“After three years Nadroga rugby official Andrew Thompson, who was based at the Fiji Resort, got me transferred there and it made things easier for me to train and play with the Nadroga team.”
Lobendahn said he really enjoyed his days playing with the Nadroga team and friends he made during
those few years have stayed with him until today.
“When I have time I go down to watch Nadroga’s games and meet with the players who I played with and we always share about those great moments in the Nadroga colours.
“We have lost a lot of former players who have passed on and some who have been affected by their injuries and are now bed-ridden but it has not stopped us from seeing each other when we have the opportunity.”
As he looks back on his finals days on the rugby field, Lobendahn said those were the important times in his life.
“I always can’t emphasise enough about one key area of our life as a sportsman, that the finishing part is always the important part.
“It’s not how you start but how you finish which is important,” he said.
“Most of the time our problem is when we finish, we just fade away.
“I use tell the younger guys, when you at the top of your world and have people hailing your name, just be careful because the fall is gonna come. When you’re not going to be careful of that pride, you will have a problem,” he said.
Lobendahn said he had shared the same sentiments with former 7s captain and coach Waisale Serevi, when he was at the lowest in his life.
“I told Serevi, you can be the most popular man in your family, but when you do something and fall, people will scatter. Remember the end is more important than how you start. The guys
you think are your friends, they are the ones who will be running away.
“Stick close to your family, cause they are the ones who are going to support you in your most difficult times.”
