Sports administrative tasks can sometimes be tedious, yet they play a crucial role in ensuring competitions run smoothly. In the past 18 months, Ba Rugby has experienced significant growth, leading to increased expectations regarding proper procedures and transparency in areas such as discipline, officiating, and player eligibility.
Gaby Kautoga, the Secretary of the Ba Rugby Union, acknowledged the ongoing learning process. “Every week seems to present new challenges that we must address, and we appreciate our club and tikina members for their patience and contributions as we expand our operations,” Kautoga said.
Last year’s inability of Yakete Nakula to field a women’s team in the 2023 Rooster Chicken Shield raised concerns when they did not compete in Round 1 of the 2024 tournament last month. However, they returned to the field in Round 2, demonstrating their seriousness with a convincing 24-0 victory over Qailyalatina.
For Round 3, the team manager submitted the individual player registrations linking them to Ba, along with a release letter from the Yasawa Rugby Union for 12 players who had previously played there. “This was all accomplished within a few days of delivering the registration forms,” Kautoga noted. “Most of these players are from Ba but study in Lautoka.”
Remarkably, Yakete continued their success, defeating Magodro 34-0, which propelled them into the Rooster Chicken Shield semi-finals against Nailaga. Kautoga highlighted a major ambition for the Ba Women’s team: “One of our key goals for 2025 is for them to gain promotion to the ANZ Marama Championship, and this achievement will provide a significant boost.”
Another highlight last week was the efficiency shown by the Veiyasana Under 19s team. Kautoga mentioned that, despite receiving their registration forms only on Thursday, the Veiyasana junior team completed all necessary paperwork in time for Saturday’s match and even submitted their players’ birth certificates.
“The Ba Tikina Championships serve not only to identify promising players for the three Ba representative teams but also as a development pathway for coaches and officials,” Kautoga explained. “We are identifying managers and assistant coaches for Ba teams, with some new faces demonstrating their capabilities.”
In the other Rooster Chicken Shield semi-final, defending champions Veiyasana Cagilaba will face off against Bulu. Meanwhile, in the Ba Industries Cup, a last-minute penalty goal allowed the Veiyasana men’s team to secure a 12-10 win over Qaliyalatina, with both teams advancing to the Cup semi-finals.
All three Nailaga Tiliva Bukuya teams topped their pools, and the Naloto Under 19s triumphed over Bulu 22-14 to progress to the Allied Buses Trophy semi-finals. All 24 teams will compete today, with entry fees set at $4 for adults and $2 for youths.