THE vision of what was described as “a long and very onerous journey” was realised when a documentary titled “Breaking Ground: The Rise of Women’s Rugby in Fiji” premiered on Tuesday night at the Damodar City Cinemas in Suva.
These were the sentiments of the general manager of Oceania Rugby, Frank Puletua.
Speaking to invited guests at the premiere, he reflected on the documentary’s progress.
“The narrative for what we’re going to watch very shortly on this documentary, for those that have been close enough to the program, this has been quite a long and very onerous journey for a lot of the stakeholders that have been involved in developing the program,” Puletua mentioned.
The film, with a run-time of nearly 30 minutes, focused on the journeys of women whose sporting journeys were closely woven with the development of women’s rugby in Fiji.
The premiere was attended by young rugby players and their relatives, members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of rugby organisations.
Established rugby players such as Asinate Serevi, Bitila Tawake, Carletta Yee, Rusila Nagasau, Tavaita Rowati, Timaima Ravisa and aspiring future Fijiana rep Hadassah Adimaitoga Uluilakeba were featured in the film.
Key figures who helped develop the path for women’s rugby such as current Fiji Rugby Union acting chief executive Koli Sewabu, former players such as Kuini Vuli, Mere Moto and Vela Naucukidi, and sevens maestro Waisale Serevi made appearances as well.
Puletua added the contributions of all involved in the making of the documentary had been immense and thanked them for their hard work.
“But that certainly doesn’t mirror exactly the type of journey the girls have gone on, in terms of being able to rise above a lot of adversities and show the resilience that you’ll see when you watch the documentary.”
