HISTORY will be made this Saturday in Suva when the Wallaroos face the Vodafone Fijiana XV in a Test match on Fijian soil for the first time.
With that in mind, anticipation for the clash at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva is building up to be an exciting one.
Fiji Rugby Union’s operations and development general manager Sale Sorovaki explained the fixture’s significance in the lead-up to this weekend’s match.
“It’s the first time the Wallaroos are on Fijian soil and as a rugby nation, we’ve had a lot of Test matches for the men, but having the Women’s World Cup this year in England, it’s great to see the Wallaroos coming to Fiji and taking on the Fijiana,” Sorovaki explained.
“It’s part of the build-up to the 2025 Rugby World Cup preparations for women, which will be held in England and these two teams have met on probably three occasions before.”
The last time both teams met in Sydney on July 6, 2024, the Fijiana were thrashed 5-64.
Before that, they were also defeated 5-22 on Saturday, May 20, 2023 and beaten 19-36 on July 6, 2022.
Despite the track record, Sorovaki extended a warm welcome to the visiting team.
“This year we welcome the Wallaroos and Australian rugby into Fiji, and this will be an annual fixture; it has been for the last three years,” he explained.
The Wallaroos arrive for the historic clash today and will be officially welcomed in Lami tomorrow.
The match is part of a double-header fixture with the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua when they take on the Queensland Reds in round 12 of the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific competition.
The Drua play at 2.05pm and the Test will happen afterwards at 5pm.
