FOR generations, the final whistle of the Deans competition has signalled the end of the secondary schools rugby season.
This week, however, that final whistle will signal something entirely different — the beginning of a new pathway.
Fiji’s best young rugby players will come together under one banner when the inaugural Nasoko Franchise competition gets underway, bringing the cream of the Vodafone Super Deans and Raluve competitions into a unique national talent identification and development programme.
The initiative will unite the best under-16 and U18 boys and girls from the Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western zones for a week of rugby, assessment, education and development.
But the importance of Nasoko extends far beyond finding out which zone has the strongest team.
Fiji Rugby Union acting chief operations officer Talemo Waqa says that is not the purpose.
“The whole purpose there is for the cream of every zone to come and play together — east versus north, south versus west and so on,” Waqa said.
The teams will play a three-day round-robin competition from Tuesday to Thursday, giving coaches and selectors an opportunity to assess the country’s outstanding young talent.
Friday will then provide another dimension, with the players selected into new combinations for further matches.
“It is not there for whoever has won,” Waqa said.
“No, it’s there to put together formidable U16 and U18 teams, girls and boys.”
For the first time, Fiji Rugby is attempting to bring the best young talent from every corner of the country together immediately after the major secondary schools competitions.
The programme has been put together through the Ministry of Education, Fiji Rugby and the Fiji Secondary Schools Rugby Union, creating what could become the annual culmination of the schools rugby calendar.
“It has never been done in the past,” Waqa said.
“It is something that we believe is the way forward each year, so that we culminate in such a Nasoko competition.”
That vision could prove significant for the future of the sport.
For too long, the end of a schools competition has often meant the end of meaningful competition for many promising players.
Nasoko is designed to close that gap, allowing Fiji Rugby to immediately identify, assess and begin developing the country’s next generation.
It is also a programme built around more than players.
Coaches, managers, strength and conditioning personnel and match officials will all be part of the development environment, making Nasoko a complete rugby development exercise rather than simply another tournament.
The girls will be based at Namaka Public School, while the boys’ competition will be held in at Ba Provincial High School.
