Ra is united. The province is riding a wave of rugby success, and Ra High School is now at the centre of it.
After helping Ra create history by winning the Vodafone Vanua Challenge and earning promotion to the Skipper Cup next season, the schoolboys have given the province another reason to celebrate.
Ra High stunned defending champions Ratu Kadavulevu School 12-10 in last week’s Vodafone Super Deans Under-18 quarter-final to reach the semi-finals for the first time.
They now face Southern Zone champions Suva Grammar School at Churchill Park in Lautoka this weekend.
But for Ra, the semi-final is bigger than a school rugby match. It has become a rallying point for an entire province.
Ra Rugby Union has called off all its provincial club matches this weekend to allow players and supporters to travel to Lautoka and get behind the schoolboys.
Ratu Josaia Niudamu, Assistant Minister for Justice and a chief from the vanua of Nalawa, said the achievement had brought the people of Ra together.
He said the support for the school had grown significantly, with Ra people from across Fiji and overseas now getting behind the team.
“The supporters that we have never seen in the past years, now we have seen the number of supporters growing. Not only from within the province of Ra, but the whole of Fiji and also those overseas.”
The victory over RKS has been particularly significant.
“It is a surprise to me and also to the people of Ra that we have managed to defeat the defending champion RKS last week and now we have gone on to the semis,” he said.
The excitement comes at a time when Ra rugby is enjoying one of its biggest breakthroughs. The province recently won the Vodafone Vanua Challenge, securing promotion to the Skipper Cup — Fiji’s premier provincial competition — next season.
Niudamu said the school had received support from Ra people living in towns and cities, those overseas, Fiji Water and other stakeholders.
But this weekend, he wants the entire vanua at Churchill Park.
“We are all going down to Churchill Park to rally behind our boys.”
For Ra High, the challenge is now clear. Beat Suva Grammar and the school will reach the Vodafone Super Deans final for the first time.
For Ra, it would be another milestone in a season that has already changed the province’s rugby fortunes. Ra High is now chasing a place in the Deans final. And the people of Ra are ready to follow.
