The Suva Rugby Union is ready for this year’s Skipper Cup competition and head coach Solomoni Nute said his players had been preparing well for the past few weeks.
Nute said they aimed to restore the lost glory and stamp their mark in local rugby.
“We have been preparing well for the past four weeks,” said Nute.
“We fell short of the final last year and our aim this year is to reach the final and win the Skipper Cup competition and Farebrother trophy.”
The SRU is looking to bridge the age gap between the players and Nute said they were starting with molding high school leavers to be a part of this year’s squad.
“We want to bridge the gap between the high school leavers and the senior players in our squad,” Nute said.
“We have brought in a lot of players that played in last year’s under-18 competition and the U20s.
“Player reputation is a thing of the past for us now and we are looking to develop these younger players to play elite rugby. They are the future of rugby in the country and we will try and identify these players to take us to greater heights in the next few years.”
Nute added that Suva players in the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua side will not be able to play for their province this year in honour of their contracts.
“We cannot rely on our players in the Drua side because they have their contractual obligations,” he said.
“We have a lot of players in the Fiji Warriors side so we will work with that.
“We have the experience of Enele Malele in this year’s squad and his experience will really help these young players. I believe it will be a good year for us and we are looking forward to the competition ahead.”
