We're in Rugby Country Day 2

Location: Nadi District School
Time: 3.05pm

This is a group of Indo-fijian and indigenous Fijian kids learning the basics of Rugby. Coach Michael is encouraging more indo-fijian kids to get involved in rugby and the results are promising. You drive through any village in Fiji around this time and you will see this same scene playing out ad nauseum - together with Netball and Volleyball. Great to watch

An outsider's guide to Tongan and Fijian rivalry (with thanks to Wikipedia)

So this weekend Fiji and Tonga will take on each other in their first round match of the 2011 IRB Pacific Nations Cup. Everyone knows that the Pacific Island rugby rivalry is amongst the fiercest in the world - and the opening match between Fiji and Tonga is one of the biggest. But Rugby is only a modern stage for a ferocious rivarly that is centuries old - and so, with apologies to our Tongan and Fijian friends who have a much greater command of their respective histories, I will try to present an abbreviated history of this great rivalry (with thanks to Wikipedia).

In the 10th Century, the Tu'i Tonga empire was established in Tonga, and included many of what are now Fijian Islands. Indeed, this Tongan influence is what is believed to have brought many Polynesian customs, languages and traditions into Fiji. In fact there remains a strong Tongan influence in Lau Group of islands (in the east of Fiji) and in particular Vanua Balavu. Although the kingdom began to decline by the 13th Century there remained a strong Tongan presence in the eastern island group of Fiji.

In the 1850's King George 1 of Tonga sent Tongan Chief Enele Ma'afu, whom he deemed a potential rival to his throne, to Fiji to organise and lead the Tongans there, under growing concerns that the Tongans in Fiji were becoming lawless and increasingly troublesome. Ma'afu based himself in Lakeba in the Lau islands where he supressed a number of religious wars and provided protection for the people of Lakeba from 'the oppressors of Bau and Somosomo'.

Ratu Seru Cakabau

Ma'afu quickly became one of the most powerful chiefs in Northern Fiji and was considered a threat to Fijian King Cakabau who feared a Tongan takeover of Fiji. In 1858, Cakabau made an offer to cede Fiji to the British Empire, in an attempt to stifle Ma'afu's expanding influence, but this was declined by the British.

Cakabau and Ma'afu duelled in a brutal struggle for power until 1871, when, extraordinarily, Ma'afu (whom by now had been declared the King of Lau) ceded to Cakabau as the King of Fiji. Ma'afu later played a leading role in the cession of Fiji to the United Kingdom in 1874, which was once again driven by King Cakabau.

It was in this period that the fierce rivalry between Fiji and Tonga was borne. Needless to say, there are thousands of stories and interpretations of this intriguing period of Fijian and Tongan history - depending on where you are sitting around the kava bowl.

Interpretations aside, one thing is certain, the battles forged in the 1800's have left an indellible mark on both countries. Today, the weapons have been put down - and replaced by rugby boots. So if you think the big hits that will be executed tomorrow are simply about Rugby....you are wrong.

We're in Rugby Country for the 2011 PNC

I was driving in from the airport in Nausori (Suva) yesterday upon my arrival in Fiji to be greeted by this sign:

The 2011 PNC is back in Rugby country

Fiji is indeed Rugby country - as is Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Cook Islands and many other Pacific Island countries. There aren't many other countries in the world that follow Rugby as passionately as these.

So what I thought I would do during our stay in this great Rugby country for the 2011 Pacific Nations Cup, is take a photo of a uniquely Fijian Rugby scene each day during our stay - and share it with the Rugby community.

This is day 1. Enjoy.

A fly on the wall of the Samoa Rugby Union High Performance Program

The temporary Gym at Alafua

Samoa's locally-based RWC squad undergo conditioning training

Ahead of the Manu Samoa Pacific Nations Cup opener against Japan in Tokyo this weekend, let's take a look at the High Performance Program that produced the 2009/10 IRB Sevens World Series Champions and which is fine tuning the Manu Samoa team for the PNC, the test against the Wallabies, and of course Rugby World Cup.

The SRU High Performance Program was launched in 2006 with funding from the IRB Strategic Investment Initiative. The IRB's Strategic Investment Initiative (SII) is aimed at improving the competitiveness of world rugby through High Performance Programs, international competitions (such as the Pacific Nations Cup and the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup) and governance programs. In the Oceania region, Strategic Initiative funding is primarily directed towards Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. Funding from the SII is derived from Rugby World Cup profits.

Samoa's Licensed Training Centre is located on the Alafua Campus of the University of the South Pacific (USP). In July it will move to its permanent home in Tuanaimato (refer to earlier posts). The temporary facility comprises a gym, offices, athlete accommodation and meeting rooms.

The SRU High Performance program services the SRU Scholarship athletes and all national teams including the Manu Samoa, men's and women's sevens teams, National U19 and National U20 teams and the Samoa A side which competes in the Pacific Rugby Cup. The scholarship recipients are broken up into 3 tiers:

Tier 1 (25 scholarships): elite players

Tier 2 (20 scholarships): Men's sevens

Tier 2 (20 scholarships) Women's sevens

Tier 3 (22 scholarships): U20 players.

Above and below, the SRU Gym at Alafua

The Program employs a number of fulltime staff including a High Performance Manager and other admin staff, the National team Head Coach, Academy coach, Strength and conditioning staff, video analyst, national elite referee manager and sports medicine staff.

Depending on the stage of the training cycle (and the assembly of national teams), scholarship athletes will train twice a day and all scholarship recipients are required to either be studying or working. An agreement with the University of the South Pacific delivers a world class athlete welfare program comprising 10 modules including basic computer literacy training and english language courses - all designed to prepare athletes for a professional rugby career and a life after rugby.

Despite the progress that the SRU Program has made in recent years (all but one of the victorious 2009/10 Sevens World Series team were products of the SRU HP Academy) there remain a number of challenges. Monitoring the vast number of overseas-based athletes remains difficult especially in the lead-up to international competitions such as the PNC, RWC and the Northern Hemisphere Tour in November. With the assistance of the IRB, the SRU is trialling some new software developed by an Australian company called Kinetic to address this problem. The Union has also commenced a visit program whereby the National Trainer, National Coach and the physiotherapist travel to the UK and France each year to meet with the players (and equally importantly, the clubs) to outline their plans for the international season, ascertain where the player is at physically and talk to the club about rehab and S&C programs tailored to the needs of the player. It is hoped that this more collaborative approach with the clubs will provide a better outcome for all parties. Certainly the indications for PNC and Rugby World Cup are promising - the SRU recently announcing a very strong squad for the PNC and RWC.

Samoa Rugby's new Training and admin Centre is nearly finished

Last week we completed the Samoa Rugby Union High Performance Review. As part of the visit we checked out the nearly completed Capital Infrastructure project - an IRB funded Gymnasium, accommodation block and Administration facility which will enhance Samoa Rugby's impressive High Performance Program. Here are some photos and videos:

A pituresque settings for a great rugby facility

The SRU staff will start moving into their new HQ at the end of the month

SRU staff checking the plans to see who got the biggest office

Inside the new administration block

The Gymnasium (bottom floor) and accommodation (top floor) block, will be completed in less than a month

The new SRU HP Gym is huge - National Trainer, David Edgar, is a happy man

Dorm style accommodation will house National team camps and visiting teams from overseas

A Birds-eye view of the Fiji Rugby Union High Performance Program



The FRU's Suva Centre of Excellence - under the watchful eye of Greg Mumm (left) and National Trainer Naca Cawanibuka




The FRU have assembled the pick of the players from the PRC to train in an extended RWC squad - these are the locally-based players that are being targeted for Rugby World Cup

 The Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) High Performance Program has undergone remarkable change over the past 12 months and has positioned itself nicely to ensure that the Flying Fijians will surely be the best prepared Fijian team for any Rugby World Cup when it travels to New Zealand to take on the World's best in what is arguably the toughest pool at RWC2011.

The Annual High Performance Review was undertaken last week over two days in Suva, Fiji. The review is undertaken jointly by the International Rugby Board and the Fiji Rugby Union. Comprising a desktop review and site visits to the Licensed Training Centres, the review looks at over 100 different aspects of the Union's High Performance Program with a view to identifying weaknesses and ensuring that the program is well positioned to produce and assist in preparing world class athletes.

The FRU High Performance Program services all national teams including the Flying Fijians, the world famous Fiji Sevens team, National U20's (which will be competing at this month's World Championship in Italy), the Fiji Warriors (Fiji's A team which competes in the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup) and women's Sevens. It also is responsible for servicing Fiji's Academy program which offers three levels of scholarships to over 70 athletes and referees. The scholarships allow the best locally-based players, and those considered to be future Flying Fijians and Fijian Sevens representatives, with an opportunity to train on fulltime scholarships.

The FRU runs two 'Centres of Excellence' - one each on the east (Suva)  and west (Nadi) coast of the main island (Viti Levu). In addition to the two Centres of Excellence, the Union has established three 'satellite training centres' in Lautoka, Sigatoka and Nausori. Two more satellite centres will be opened in 2012. All training centres are staffed by fulltime managers and IRB accredited strength and conditioning coaches. All Scholarship athletes train at one of these centres when they are not assembled at one of the Centres of Excellence. This structure ensures that all players train under the supervision of appropriately qualified coaches in periodised training programs prepared by the National trainer and Academy coaches throughout the year. This system addresses one of the biggest challenges of Fiji's High Performance Program - that of providing a supervised Daily Training Environment for all it's players spread across a geographically diverse and dispersed country.

The FRU's locally-based RWC Extended squad in skills training

The FRU's Centre of Excellence in Suva provides a High Performance Training Environment for all HP Athletes as well as provincial representative players

The FRU Sports Science/Sports Medicine program is the jewel in the crown of the FRU HP Program. Managed by the SSSM Commission, which comprises the creme de la creme of Fiji's SSSM fraternity, including physiotherapists, orthopaedic surgeons, nutritionists and a sports psychologist, the FRU SSSM Program provides free and comprehensive SSSM services to all athletes within the FRU's HP Program.
The FRU has six referees on scholarship within their Academy. Significant improvements have been made in Fiji's referee program in recent years. Two referees, James Boliabu and Napolioni Locoloco were appointed to the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series and Locoloco became the first Fijian to officiate the final of an international IRB tournament when he took charge of the final of the 2010 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy.

Newly formed partnerships with the Canterbury Crusaders and Saracens are providing access to some of the best high performance environments in World Rugby for the pick of Fiji's locally-based players. In all, four of Fiji's best locally-based players, as selected from the recently completed IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, are completing scholarships at the Crusaders and Saracens in a bid to fine-tune their skills and give them the best possible chance of selection in the Flying Fijians for the Pacific Nations Cup and ultimately Rugby World Cup.

The FRU has recruited aggressively for coaches for Rugby World Cup - bringing back Shannon Fraser and Greg Mumm who were so instrumental in Fiji's 2007 RWC success. However this time they have had much longer to work with National coach Sam Domoni to prepare the team. With Fiji's European stars starting to arrive back, and the best of the locally based players in a closely monitored program, Fiji is well placed for yet another successful RWC.