NADI Rugby Union will head into the quarterfinal of the Skipper Cup and Subrails Marama Cup with everything to play for when it hosts their opponents this Saturday at Prince Charles Park in Nadi.
Nadi currently leads the senior men’s and women’s points table, while its Under-20 team is in second position heading into the quarterfinal.
Nadi Rugby Union vice-president and operations manager Jeff Tamata said the union had stepped up preparations for the quarterfinal, with the team aware of the challenge their opponents would bring.
Tamata said Nadi would let its performance on the field do the talking as it looks to finish the quarterfinal strongly.
The team’s consistency throughout the season has been credited to proper planning, preparation and strategy implemented before the start of the competition.
Tamata said the union had taken the time during the off-season to plan its programmes and prepare its teams for the demands of the Skipper and Subrails Marama Cup competition.
He also acknowledged the leadership of Nadi Rugby Union president Ponijese Lou and the contribution of the players, coaches, former players, stakeholders and supporters.
“This goes back to proper planning, strategising off-season and all the programmes so we can come to this,” he said.
Tamata described this year’s Skipper Cup and Marama Cup as one of the toughest competitions in recent years.
He said unlike previous seasons, there was still no clear picture of which teams would host or play in the knockout stages until the final round of the round-robin competition.
Nadi will be counting on strong support from its home crowd this Saturday.
Tamata urged supporters and families to turn up in Nadi colours and back the three teams in action.
He said the support from the fans would provide an important boost to the players as they look to battle in the quarterfinal on a strong note.
Nadi Skipper U20 will take on Malolo U20 at 11am while the Nadi Women faces Nadroga Women in the Subrails Marama Cup quarterfinal at 1pm.
McDonald’s Nadi Senior will then take on Vinod Patel Ba Senior at 3pm.
