Skipper Cup Round One review

The first round of seven Skipper Cup matches have turned-out to be a thrilling and an entertaining one.

There has been a few upsets with top ranked teams losing at least a match so far while the struggle to avoid the danger of being relegated continues for bottom ranked teams.

Suva firmly sits on top of the Skipper Cup table with 29 points, arch rivals Nadroga and Naitasiri both have 26 points sitting second and third respectively while Namosi is a point behind on fourth place.

Looking at the middle of the points table, Nadi and Lautoka sit on 5th and on 6th place while Tailevu and Yasawa are in danger of being relegated this season.

Level of competition 

In a panel discussion with Fiji Rugby Manager Operations/Competitions Manager Sale Sorovaki, High Performance General Manager Simon Raiwalui and Elite Player Pathway Manager Bill Gadolo, they praised the level of competition we are having despite the World being hit by COVID-19.

Raiwalui said “There have been progression every week.”

He added “There is very little things we need to work on but the tournament is going on very well.

It’s good to see the youths taking part in the Skipper Cup and in the Vodafone Vanua Championship where they are competing very well.”

Bill Gadolo and his team have been working hard with the elite players during the COVID-19 lockdown and these players are surely reaping the benefits.

Gadolo said “It’s good to see that most of the boys in the High Performance Academy were in good shape before the season started.”

“Going to the early stages of the competition, we are really happy with the changes plus the shift in the mindset that most of our provincial unions have taken, seeing all these young players who are playing big role in the provincial premiership teams.

This is very beneficial for Fiji Rugby in the long run and you will see how elite players are being able to play for their provinces for a longer period of time” said Gadolo.

Gadolo, Sorovaki and Raiwalui also thanked the member unions for their continuous support and assistance in making round one of the Skipper Cup a successful one.

Gadolo said “We are really happy with where we at the moment in-terms of our relationships with the provincial unions and their agreement to start using our younger rugby players and after first round we impressed with the way these young players have performed.”

He further added that from HPU perspective they have managed to implement GPS with selected players on a game day.

He said, “One of the biggest thing is seeing where we are at and always setting a standard with international competition.”

Teams to watch in second round of Skipper Cup

The panel is predicting the competition to get intense as we proceed to the tail part of the season.

Raiwalui picked teams such as Suva and Namosi as outstanding sides after the first round.

Raiwalui said “It been an even competition in the first round of the Skipper Cup with couple of upsets but obviously Namosi has been very strong, physical upfront and dominant with their forward pack.”

He added “Suva is coming into bit of form now, they had a slow start but have picked up the momentum and to be fair all the teams’ performance is picking up every weekend.”

Outstanding Players in Skipper Cup this season

There is also a few players who have had an impressive performance in the Skipper Cup.

Gadolo said “There have been some really outstanding players from the exciting teams for example in Namosi we have players like Vinaya Habosi, a young player and consistently performing from first match of the Skipper Cup.

In the Yasawa team we have players like Kitione Salawa who has been playing well.

Naitaisiri have players like Sireli Kaloucava playing at number eight leading the Naitasiri pack really well plus Tuidraki Samusamuvodre and others who have been dictating plays in all matches.”

Provincial teams have also injected the overseas players who have been on leave since COVID-19 lockdown.

For example, Napolioni Nalaga has featured for Nadroga, hooker Veremalua Vugakoto has played for Nadi, Henry Seniloli for Tailevu and the latest addition has been the Flying Fijians general machine Alifereti Veitokani playing at fly-half for Namosi.

Gadolo said “We saw glimpse of Veitokani’s ability two weeks ago against Suva at full-back.

He still has a lot more to offer which I think he will be showcasing it in the second round.”

Improvement needed by teams in the next six matches

While the season has rolled properly, Raiwalui believes there is a lot more to achieve in-terms of playing style and skills development.

He said “One of the things we trying to get to all the unions is offering High Performance coaches who go out and help them with certain aspects of the game.”

“The biggest thing for us is to transfer our skills to the international level for example we need to really work hard on kicking, ball carrying, scrums, rucks and mauls and working on other important areas of the game” said Raiwalui.