Rarawai FSC Primary School is set to take part in this year’s Ba Primary Schools Kaji Rugby competition, emphasizing development. The event kicks off tomorrow and will run until Friday at the grounds of AD Patel College and Tagore Primary School.
The school will compete in nine categories. However, due to a shortage of players, the U13 and U14 boys’ teams will merge with Ratu Rusiate Nabuta Primary School and Votua Catholic Primary School to create the Tiliva Team.
Head coach Petero Vaisewa stated that this collaboration is essential for ensuring participation in these age groups. Another combined team in the U13 and U14 categories, called NNN, consists of players from Navala Catholic, Naloto District, and Nakoroboya. St. Theresa Primary and Namosau Methodist Primary School will also represent their respective institutions in these age brackets.
Vaisewa confirmed that their school will compete in multiple grades, including U9 boys, U10 boys and girls, U11 boys, U12 boys, mixed Indo-Fijian and iTaukei teams, as well as the U12 girls’ tag team and U14 girls’ teams. The combined teams for U13 and U14 include players from Ratu Rusiate and Votua Catholic.
He emphasized that their main focus is on development. “Our objective is development; we want to nurture these young players and prepare them for a successful rugby future. If we happen to win any grades, that will just be a bonus,” Vaisewa said.
Around 400 players from 15 primary schools in Ba will gather at the tournament venues to display their rugby skills. The U9 to U12 boys will engage in tag rugby, while the U13 and U14 boys will participate in full 15s contact rugby. Additionally, the U14 girls will compete in 7s rugby, and the Indo-Fijian teams, referred to as the Fellow category, will take part in U12 and U14 boys’ and girls’ tag rugby.