Over 24 representatives from Member Unions across the Pacific, including Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Nauru, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Kiribati are attending a combined 5 day World Rugby and Oceania Rugby National Development Manager Super Week in Suva, Fiji this week. Joining the meeting are observers from Fiji Deaf Rugby and Deaf Sports and Fiji National Sports Commission (FNSC).
This is the first opportunity since Covid-19 impacted the world in 2020, that such a Super Week has been held. The Super Week brings all National Development Managers, and other key Development personnel together for a week of collaboration and sharing of best practice, which is critical in this post pandemic world.
The week will cover 12 key objectives to support the ongoing success for domestic rugby across the region. All programs are targeted for each union to review their current practices and learn from each other through best practice sharing.
Tui Komiti, Development and Competition Manager for Lakapi Samoa is grateful to be apart of the workshops.
“ It has been two years away from these workshops and I hope to learn a lot of new things from other Pacific countries and to see what works for them, so I am to take back these learning to my Union.” Komiti said.
At the end of this week, each Union will have developed and/or updated the following targets for driving rugby out of the pandemic within their country.
- National (Rugby) Development unit structure and Pathways (Coaches/MO/S&C/Medical)
- Player welfare initiatives (FAIR/ACTIVATE)
- Women’s rugby pathways
- Olympic Solidarity funding application and Financial management
- Leadership and governance principles
- Safeguarding and Values Education
World Rugby Master Trainer and Oceania Rugby Training and Education Manager, Talemo Waqa highlighted that this is just the beginning to keep bringing member unions to reflect, re-adjust/re-plan and re-organise their system and processes.
"The purpose of the Super Week is centered around player welfare and development. We hope by the end of this week the Member Unions will have a knowledge of structures that they can develop pathways from grassroots right up till professional rugby.
2022 brings a new era of rugby, therefore a new way of thinking, systems and processes need to be in place to match the way in which sport and rugby is evolving in the Pacific. ” said Talemo.
