Fiji Rugby Launches new brand “The Royal Tea Fiji Rugby Ranadi Cup

The Fiji Rugby Union revealed a new brand identity for the Women’s 15s championship in the Tier 2 competition today.

FRU Chief Executive John O’Connor said it’s a privilege to introduce the Fiji Rugby RANADI Cup competition which now sets the platform and pathway for women’s Rugby in Fiji.

The Ranadi Cup is the development grade for the Marama Championship competition which will have 16 provincial teams battling it out on a weekly home and away basis in a round robin format before the semifinals and final.

While revealing the Fiji Rugby Ranadi Cup major sponsor ‘Royal Tea’, the Fiji Rugby CEO said the term Ranadi symbolizes the continuous development and growth of womens rugby players to reaching the top.

He added “From now on, the Ranadi Cup has a brand identity which reflects ambition and where diversity is celebrated, and everyone should feel welcome.”

O’Connor also acknowledged CJ Patel for coming on board to sponsor the Ranadi Cup competition. He said the competition will now officially be called “The Royal Tea Fiji Rugby Ranadi Cup.

“We are excited that Royal Tea has come on board to be the new sponsor of the Ranadi Cup for the next 3 years. This is the turning point for Women’s Rugby in Fiji. There is now a clear pathway for every girl playing rugby in Fiji, from Kaji, to the Raluve competition, to the Ranadi competition, to the Marama competition, the Fijiana 7s, the Fijiana Drua and then ultimately to the Fijiana XV.

“We at the Rugby House are extremely grateful to the team at CJ Patel for their faith in women’s rugby and trusting Fiji Rugby through their sponsorship for the Ranadi Cup Competition. We are so humbled for their support in such challenging times” he said.

Group Marketing Manager, Mr. Ashwin Prasad said, “We understand the need to develop grass root rugby and more importantly, Women’s Rugby. The Royal Tea Ranadi Cup sponsorship will help drive development of Women in Rugby and help transition talent to premier level as they progress. It is our firm belief that development and support must start from grassroots and we have proven this with our eight-year strong commitment in Skipper Provincial Cup and now, we start another long term journey with the Royal Tea Ranadi Cup.”

“Royal Tea has been in Fiji for over 20 years and is the number one brand of choice at every home. We therefore felt this would suit well to sponsor grassroots women’s rugby using Royal Tea. As we return to normalcy, we urge every Fijian to support their teams as they take on the pride of their provinces and clubs to conquer the Royal Tea Ranadi Cup.” said Mr. Prasad

Expect more firepower in the Royal Tea Ranadi Cup competition as they will battle for the top two position on the table so they could be promoted into the ANZ Marama Championship next year and also the players will try to impress the national team scouts for the up-coming international events this year.

O’Connor highlighted “Our women teams have the busiest of calendar this year, with Commonwealth Games and 7s Rugby World Cup lined up for Fijiana 7s and then the Rugby World Cup for the Fijiana 15’s in New Zealand in September. The Fijiana 15s also have test matches scheduled this year.

The onus is now on the union coaches and players to train hard and prepare well as there are clear pathways from the grassroots to national level.

They need to put in all the hard yards during the competition so players can put their hands up for selection into the national teams.

The 16 participating unions have been divided into four pools of four, the Northern Pool consists of Bua, Cakaudrove, Macuata and Rewa. Eastern Pool will be between Vatukoula, Tavua, Ra and Nanukuloa. The Central Pool has Northland, Ovalau, Northern Bulls and Serua while the Western Pool comprises Lautoka, Yasawa, Malolo and Navosa.

The two teams finishing at the top of the table will be promoted to the ANZ Marama Championship. Games shall be played on a round robin basis either at home or away with each team playing three home games and three away.

The opening round of the Royal Tea Ranadi Cup competition kicks off on the 6^th of this month, which is tomorrow.

The fixtures of round one are as follows.

Nasinu vs Northland, Northern Bulls vs Ovalau, Serua vs Ba, Navosa vs Malolo, Tavua vs Nanukuloa, Vatukoula vs Ra, Macuata vs Rewa and Cakaudrove vs Bua.