Qaranivalu is ready to impress the selectors during the two-day match series

Swire Shipping Fijian Warriors forward, Anasa Qaranivalu is looking forward to the two-day match series against the Vodafone Fijian Under-20 and hopes to impress the selectors as Fiji Rugby prepares for a tough international season next year.

The 22-year-old Naiborebore, Tailevu lad humbly began his rugby journey through the High-Performance pathway program three years ago, through his hard-work and determination Qaranivalu slowly excel and advanced into the other phases of his pathway development.

From the Vodafone Fijian Under-20, he went on to join the Swire Shipping Fijian Warriors before making it into the Fiji Airways Fijian 7’s squad that played at the Oktoberfest Invitational 7’s at Munich, Germany in 2019.

Earlier this year the announcement of the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua into the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific campaign had all local players excited including Qaranivalu, who all were looking forward to the squad announcement. Even though the domestic competition was cut short this year, the selection for the Drua was based on the data from the previous domestic games and unfortunately Anasa did not make the cut due to limited game time.

For the Naiborebore lad, this wasn’t a setback for his journey, in fact it was a perfect set up for a comeback as he believes “the windows of opportunities will always be open if you continue to train hard and never stop trying,” said Anasa.

Qaranivalu is preparing for the two days match series between the Swire Shipping Fiji Warriors and the Vodafone Fijian Under-20 which will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday next week at the ANZ Stadium.

The main idea behind this series is to select players into a new pathway that will be a feeder into the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua and other national teams.

Fiji Rugby Elite Pathway manager Bill Gadolo said that the “series is all about building player base and building players that will be fit for the criterion of playing for our national teams.”

Anasa Qaranivalu believes that he has gone through “all pathway stages up to the international stage and thought that I count myself experienced but what I’ve learnt is that rugby is all about learning and listening.”

“If one door closes, have patience and keep on trying and eventually another door and opportunity will open up and for me, my window of opportunity is next week and I will do my best to impress the coaches,” added Qaranivalu.

The two-day match Series will be held on Tuesday and Thursday next week at the ANZ Stadium and at Buckhurst Park in Suva.