Part of Ba Rugby Union’s development strategy includes training and improving the skills of coaches, referees, medics, and strength and conditioning professionals throughout the region. BRU secretary Pastor Gaby Katoga highlighted the challenge, stating, “It’s a big area to cover.”
He noted that following the COVID pandemic, there was a significant need to rebuild from the ground up last year, compounded by the geographical spread of the clubs, which creates logistical and financial challenges for organizing clinics. The Fiji Rugby Union has provided assistance where possible, but they too have limitations in their development budget.
So far in 2024, Ba Rugby Union has conducted seven days of coaching clinics, and moving forward, they will need to shoulder a greater share of the expenses.
This coming Monday and Tuesday, BRU and FRU will hold level two coaching clinics for men’s head coaches across the eight tikina. Katoga expressed optimism about the initiative, stating, “We see everything developing through the tikina.”
He explained that by training the eight head coaches from the Ba Industries Cup to level two, they can then return to their tikina to share their newfound knowledge with women’s and under-19 coaches as well as their respective clubs. This collaborative approach will help pave the way for the development of all coaches and team management personnel.
If the clinics are successful, Ba Rugby aims to advance these coaches to level three by 2025, while simultaneously encouraging other promising coaches in each tikina to begin their level two training.