NEWLY appointed Swire Shipping Fijian Drua head coach Brad Mooar has urged players competing in this year’s Skipper Cup and Deans U18 competition to put their best foot forward, with a place in the professional team potentially waiting for them.
With the Skipper Cup kicking off today and the Deans Under-18 elimination rounds also getting underway, Mooar said the Drua coaching staff would be watching closely for emerging talent.
“My first message will be gone well, good luck, enjoy and have fun, be awesome and also that we’re watching and we’re really inspired by watching and looking for that next Drua player. There’s a pathway here and there’s a jersey with their name on it if they want to put their foot forward and perform. Enjoy,” Mooar said.
Mooar will be in Lautoka today to watch the opening-round Skipper Cup clash between Lautoka and Nadroga.
He said the match would provide an opportunity to see local players competing for their provinces and to experience the atmosphere of the local competition.
“Really looking forward to going to Lautoka to watch Lautoka versus Nadroga in the Skipper’s Cup, opening round, very excited. It’ll be great to be part of that game, part of the day, to see our home ground in action and to see the local players playing hard for their team in the club competition.”
Mooar believes the local competitions are an important part of the pathway towards the Drua and wants the club to work closely with the development structures already in place.
He said the Drua had a major opportunity to build a rugby programme that Fiji could be proud of while developing the next generation of players.
“The opportunity to build a rugby game and rugby product that we are proud of, inspired by, excited by, and is successful for us is huge. I don’t believe there’s any ceiling on where we can take the Drua team to.”
Mooar said getting the Drua programme right must go hand in hand with identifying and developing young talent through competitions such as the Deans Cup and Skipper Cup.
“We nail off making sure that we get right what we’re doing here with the Drua, whilst also working really hard on the pipeline of our talent ID and talent development through the secondary schools Dean’s Cup, the Skipper’s Cup, and embracing that pipeline and pathway and also integrating massively and really tightly with the Fijian Rugby Union through our people, through our players, through our staff, and how we each work together to be able to be equally successful.”
