The ongoing impacts of Covid-19 on international rugby in the Oceania region have been given a welcome reprieve thanks to the Australian Government.
Fiji’s participation in the 2022 Oceania Rugby U20 Championship is receiving welcome funding support through the PacificAus Sports program. This three-year funding commitment ensures that Fiji is better prepared for the World Rugby U20 Championship.
This support will extend to also support Tonga and Samoa’s participation in the Oceania Rugby U20 Trophy in September. The U20 Trophy is a qualification tournament featuring Tonga and Samoa, with the winner to represent Oceania in the World Rugby U20 Trophy Tournament in 2023.
World Rugby have stated the importance of the World Rugby U20 competition, noting that ‘no less than 707 players have experienced playing at the U20 Championship before going on to be capped by their respective countries – enough to highlight its role in the player development pathway’.
The Australian government funding is a welcome boost for all three nations as the region emerges from the impacts of Covid-19.
The PacificAus Sports assistance is invaluable in helping the Fijian team to gauge their performance against other teams for the first time in over two years. The 2022 Oceania Rugby U20 Championship is an excellent opportunity 12 months out from the much-anticipated return of the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa in 2023.
The World Rugby U20 Championship and U20 Trophy both set to return in 2023 following three consecutive years without age grade global tournaments (2020-2022).
Fiji Head coach Ifereimi Rawaqa is thankful for the boost that funding through the PacificAus Sports program provides:
“We are really thankful to be here and to play top level footy again after a lapse of 2-3 years due to COVID 19. A huge Vinaka vakalevu to the Australian government, our ‘Vuvale’ partnership through the PacificAus Sports funding that allow us to be here.
“The learnings have been immense for most of the boys, travelling away from home for the first time, competing against quality teams like Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, and enjoying the beautiful Sunshine Coast and its people.
“The Fiji U20 team now competes with the best of the world at the World Rugby U20 Championship, along aside Australia and New Zealand. To ensure we remain in that position over the coming years, opportunities like this really helps us to gauge where we are against the world’s best, identifying our strengths and weaknesses which will allow us to better plan and be better prepared for 2023. We are really grateful for Australia’s PacificAus Sports to help provide us with this platform not only this year but for the next 2 years as well. Vinaka vakalevu.”
Oceania Rugby General Manager, Lemalu Wayne Schuster said:
“The Oceania Rugby U20 Championship is an immensely critical tournament in terms of its strategic purpose to provide each of teams an elite level of competition. It provides our regional teams competing at the World Rugby U20 Championship the opportunity to build their performances ahead of this key global age grade tournament.
“Fiji’s performances over the years in the Oceania Rugby U20 Championship, has contributed to their success in moving from the World Rugby U20 Trophy to the U20 Championship at this level and we are delighted they will continue to be part of this competition over the next three years through the support and assistance of the PacificAus Sports program.
About PacificAus Sports Australians share a rich history and deep love of sport with the Pacific. The Australian Government’s PacificAus Sports program aims to create sustainable sports pathways for Pacific teams and athletes to compete at the highest levels. Besides rugby, PacificAus Sports is supporting the elite sport ambitions of the Pacific in rugby league, netball, football, and AFL as well as in the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games. The program is also investing in the development of sports professionals across the region, supporting access to best-practice education and training for coaches, administrators and support staff.
