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Iosefo credits family for rise in rugby
Not many Fijian ruggers can claim they have donned the white jersey and represented Fiji in sevens and 15s rugby. Iosefo Masi is one of the few that can boast to have represented the country...
Fiji FA verifies player transfers
The Fiji Football Association is in the process of verifying all the player transfers for the 2023 season. The first transfer window for the season closed two days ago. Former Labasa, Rewa, and national team midfielder Ilisoni Tuinawaivuvu Logavou has applied for his transfer from Rewa to Nasinu. Digicel Junior Bula Boys reps Mohammed Raheem, Gulam...
Futsal IDC: Rewa wins futsal opener against Lami
Rewa improved on its defence which resulted in its 8-1 win against Nasinu 1 in the first round of the Extra Supermarket Futsal IDC held at the Vodafone Arena in Suva yesterday. Coach Mohammed Shahrouf said Nasinu tested their defence but his boys stood strong. “It was a big win but we have to go...
Lau side aims to expose 7s players
The Cooling Down Lau Brothers 7s team has one mission and that is to expose its players so that they can be selected into the national side. The side will participate in the Fiji Bitter Nawaka 7s today and is in Pool 3 with Police Blue, Wallis and Futuna, and Gaunavou Nadi. Team technical adviser...
2023 Nawaka 7s: Boost for Army ahead of Nawaka tourney
The Army 7s side received another boost from their major sponsors before heading into the 2023 Fiji Bitter Nawaka 7s that starts in Nadi today. Ram Sami business development manager Abdul Shameer presented training t-shirts and muscle vests to Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) officer Major Elia Rokowailoa and a few players present at...
2023 Nawaka 7s: ‘We breed our own’
Rartu Filise Rugby Club will showcase its breed of new talent when they play at the 36th Fiji Bitter Nawaka 7s in Nadi today. The team from Namatakula in Nadroga is in Pool 6 with DSM Clermont Stallions, Malolo Island Resort and the Fiji Development side. Coach Etika Tovilevu said it had been a tough...
Soccer-World Cup ambassador says Saudi sponsorship would be ‘disempowering’ for women
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Former New Zealand international Maia Jackman said Saudi sponsorship of the Women’s World Cup would be in “complete opposition” to female empowerment and set back her work as an ambassador for the tournament. Australia and New Zealand, co-hosts of this year’s World Cup, wrote to global soccer governing body FIFA on Wednesday seeking...
Rugby-Fiji coach Cotter quits seven months before World Cup
(Reuters) – Fiji coach Vern Cotter has resigned with immediate effect for personal reasons, leaving the Fijian Rugby Union (FRU) scrambling to find a replacement seven months before the World Cup in France. “FRU has begun the process to recruit a new Flying Fijians coach that will take the team (to) 2023 Rugby World Cup...
Cricket-Women’s cricket awaits birth of a superpower with game set to take off in India
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Women’s cricket looks poised to step out of the imposing shadow of the men’s game in India, and the rest of the world is bracing for the birth of a superpower in the sport. While male players have long enjoyed rock star status in the cricket-mad country, their female counterparts have...
2nd February
Soccer-Premier League is ‘financially doped’, says LaLiga president
(Reuters) – Spain’s LaLiga president Javier Tebas has said teams in the Premier League are “financially doped” after they spent a record $1 billion in the January transfer window and outspent the rest of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues by almost four to one. According to Tebas, the teams in English football’s top division make multi-million...
Cricket-Australia’s Khawaja flies out to India after visa approved
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia opener Usman Khawaja will join his test team mates in India later on Thursday following a delayed approval of his visa, Cricket Australia said. Pakistan-born Khawaja, named Australia’s test player of the year this week, was the only member of the squad unable to travel and missed a flight on Wednesday...
Cotter resigns as Flying Fijians head coach
Flying Fijians coach Vern Cotter has resigned from his position as head coach. Fiji Rugby Union chairman Humphrey Tawake said Cotter stepped down because of personal reasons. Cotter’s resignation comes eight months out from the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France in September.
Futsal IDC: Spots up for grabs
The Extra Supermarket Futsal Inter District Championship which kicks off at the Vodafone Arena in Suva today will serve as selection for the national training squad in preparation for the 2023 Oceania Football Confederation Futsal Championship. The winner of the OFC Futsal Championship that will be held in Auckland, New Zealand in October will qualify...
New rugby 7s format to encourage urgency
The RC Manubhai Nataleira 7/14 Sevens tournament is bringing a new format to the local rugby scene that encourages players to practice “urgency” during matches – with $100 rewards for ‘individual goal-line to goal-line tries’. There are also monetary rewards for the ‘fastest team try’ from kick-off in a match of seven seconds or less...
Wadigi to bounce back; Bolaca to lead side after Coral Coast 7s disappointment
The Wadigi Salvo team from Lautoka aims to improve its performance at the 36th Fiji Bitter Nawaka 7s that starts at Prince Charles Park in Nadi tomorrow. The side was bundled out of the McDonald’s Fiji’s Coral Coast 7s by Fire in the main cup quarter-final at Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka last month. Wadigi Salvo...
Rugby league: New FNRL chair to bring changes
Fiji National Rugby League newly-appointed chairman Aporosa Lutunauga has wasted no time in bringing changes with a five-year strategic development plan aimed at modernising the sporting body to ensure it remains relevant in its domain. Lutunauga, who is an Assistant Commissioner of Police, takes over the role from Viliame Naupoto, who resigned from his post....
Preseason trial match: Western Force next for Fijian Drua
The Swire Shipping Fijian Drua will play the Western Force in their second trial match in preparation for the 2023 Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific season on February 16. The match will take place at the Western Districts RFC Park in Toowong, Queensland, kicking off at 6pm (Queensland time). It will be broadcast live...
Olympics-Paris 2024 organisers will abide to IOC decision on Russia’s participation
PARIS (Reuters) – Paris 2024 organisers insisted they would abide by the International Olympic Committee’s decision on Russian and Belarusian athletes’ participation in the Games after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the governing body into banning them from the sport’s extravaganza. Last week, the IOC said the Olympic Council of Asia had offered Russian and...
Three uncapped players in trimmed England squad
(Reuters) – England head coach Steve Borthwick has kept three uncapped players in his trimmed 29-man squad for their opening Six Nations match against Scotland on Saturday. Jack Walker, Ollie Hassell-Collins and Fin Smith are the three new faces who keep their places, but Toulouse flanker Jack Willis, Sale lock Jonny Hill, and props Joe...
Netball: Fiji Pearls complete first camp for World Cup campaign
The Fiji Pearls training squad had a cross country run up in the highlands of Naitasiri last Saturday to conclude the week-long training camp. This was their first camp after their preparations for the Netball World Cup campaign began last week. They go on their second camp this month. That will be followed by training...
Rugby: Nayacavou now coaching; to select British Army men’s squad
Former Scotland 7s forward Joseva Nayacavou is the new head coach of the British Army men’s 7s team. As a player, Nayacavou was one of the key cogs that made the Army 7s team one of the most respected outfits in the UK. In the process, he showcased the talent that would yield selection in...
Savea praises Johnstone’s ‘courageous’ decision to come out as gay
(Reuters) – Ardie Savea said former New Zealand prop Campbell Johnstone was “pretty courageous” for deciding to publicly come out as the first gay All Black. Johnstone, who played three tests in 2005, said on a television programme on Monday he had been “living a lie” and leading “a double life” before acknowledging his sexuality....
Ireland must relish top ranking in world rugby says Beirne
(Reuters) – Ireland must learn to embrace the expectation and scrutiny that comes with being the top ranked rugby team in the world, experienced forward Tadhg Beirne said on Tuesday. Ireland will start this year’s Six Nations Championship leading the World Rugby rankings but have a difficult opener away to Wales at the Principality Stadium...
Wales coach Gatland opts for experience in Six Nations opener v Ireland
(Reuters) – Wales coach Warren Gatland has included lock Alun Wyn Jones in his starting XV to face Ireland in their Six Nations opener at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, having opted for experience in his first selection since returning to the role. Jones is the most capped international in rugby history with 155 appearances...
Rugby-Former NZ prop Johnstone becomes first All Black to come out as gay
(Reuters) – Former New Zealand prop Campbell Johnstone has become the first All Black to come out as gay, saying on a television programme on Monday he had been “living a lie” and leading “a double life” before acknowledging his sexuality. Johnstone, who played three tests in 2005, had already told his family and close...
Ukraine on mission to ban Russia from Olympics, IOC says sanctions stand
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine hopes to secure widespread international support for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Paris Olympics in 2024 due to Moscow’s invasion, the sports minister said on Tuesday. Vadym Huttsait, 51, a former Olympic fencing champion, told Reuters the idea of allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals was unacceptable....
1st February
Soccer-Premier League clubs spend $1 billion for first time in January transfer window
(Reuters) – Premier League soccer clubs spent a record 815 million pounds ($1.00 billion) in the January transfer window, an analysis from Deloitte’s Sports Business Group said on Wednesday. The biggest spenders were Chelsea, responsible for 37% of the total – equivalent to more than the combined spend by all clubs in the Bundesliga, LaLiga,...
Tennis-Djokovic played Australian Open with 3cm tear in hamstring, says Tiley
(Reuters) – Novak Djokovic played with a three-centimetre (1.2 inches) tear in his hamstring during his run to a record-extending 10th Australian Open title, tournament director Craig Tiley said on Wednesday. The Serbian, who suffered the hamstring injury en route to winning the warm-up title in Adelaide, won the season-opening major after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas...
Futsal IDC: Suva to face Tavua in opening match
Defending champion Suva will face Tavua in their opening match of the Extra Supermarket Futsal Inter District Championship at the Vodafone Arena tomorrow evening. Nasinu, Rewa, Lami, Tailevu Naitasiri, Tavua, Suva, Savusavu and Labasa are participating in the Futsal IDC. The winner of the tournament will receive $4500 while the runner-up will get $1500. Fixtures:...
Proceeds from 7s tournament to go towards rebuilding a church
Funds raised from the RC Manubhai Natalaira 7/14 Sevens tournament will be used to rebuild a church destroyed during Severe Cyclone Winston. The tournament will be held on February 23-25 at the Natalaira Village ground in Dawasamu, Tailevu. RC Manubhai group marketing manager Atish Singh said sponsoring the event was “part our community duty to...
