The Fiji Rugby Union has unveiled an exciting new pathway for the country’s emerging rugby talent with the introduction of the Nasoko Franchise Championship, a competition set to give the best young players another shot at national selection.
The new tournament, which will be staged after the Vodafone Deans competition, will bring together the top Under-18 and Under-16 boys and girls from the Southern, Eastern, Western and Northern zones to battle for national honours.
More importantly, it ensures the season does not end for talented players whose schools fall short of the national Deans finals.
Instead, the country’s brightest prospects will have another opportunity to prove themselves against the very best from across Fiji in front of national selectors.
The initiative also strengthens Fiji Rugby’s player development pathway by shifting the spotlight from school success to individual excellence, allowing outstanding performers to earn recognition regardless of where their schools finish.
Fiji Rugby Union acting chief operations officer Talemo Waqa said the new franchise system was already taking shape through the zonal Under-18 playoffs.
“Our Under-18 especially, we have all the four teams from every zone playing off today in all the zones,” Waqa said.
“Number one and two stay in the zone to defend, number three and four move around.
“Why are we doing that?
“We have what we call a Nasoko franchise where the South, the North, the East and the West make up a team of Under-16 girls, boys, Under-18 girls and boys.
“They will meet after the Deans where they will be going through another round of competition for four days where World Rugby, Oceania Rugby and Fiji Rugby will be here, officials to pick the best team to represent our Under-18 boys and our Under-18 girls.”
The four-day championship will pit the country’s finest schoolboy and schoolgirl players against one another in what promises to be the highest level of age-grade rugby outside the Deans finals.
It also gives players who narrowly miss out on grade titles a valuable second chance to impress, with World Rugby, Oceania Rugby and Fiji Rugby officials expected to closely monitor the tournament. The Nasoko Franchise Championship marks another significant step in Fiji Rugby’s long-term player development strategy, creating a stronger bridge between secondary schools rugby and the national age-grade programmes.
For the young men and women who dream of wearing the white jersey, the road to national honours has just become a little wider.
