Game 1

Friday was a cooler day & rain at the start of the game. Kick of time was 2pm & as we pulled up to the school in our bus, the school kids all stuck their heads out of the class rooms 1 x 1 after another.

You can see a few photos of the older boys under the awning & they were very pleased to see the lads.

As we were on Fiji time, the start time of 2pm got pushed out to after 3pm!

The boys played extremely well but the class of rugby witnessed by our boys at Ratu Navulawas amazing. Just to put this into perspective, this school are the current Fiji champions, not just in the U15s but in the U18s so they were big, fast & well disciplined. Everywhere Forest went, there was about 4-6 Fijians over the top. The Ref was brilliant & was definitely on our side to help us.

We were so impressed by the Fijian boys as they constantly had a smile on their faces for the whole game, nothing Razzed them, & it was played in the best spirit imaginable.

The boys were taught a Rugby lesson throughout the game, but Nathan wasn’t going to let them have everything their own way, and went over for two tries!!

Game 2

Ratu Natabua

This was a very different rugby experience to say the least. As you will have seen from the photos, the facilities were better at the second school, but also the players were significantly smaller!

It was a much warmer day, with bright sunshine, on a hard surface, so we chose to play four quarters of 15 minutes. We also had the benefit of three Fijian players from game 1, giving us a little more bulk up front. Yes, for the first time, Nathan and the two Jacks were outsized in both games.

The Natabua boys made it clear that they were going to run and run all afternoon, so it was up to the likes of Bjorn, Daniel Martin, Alex Brown, Sean O’Connell to muscle up and try to play a more structured game. They succeeded, and created a platform for some great running rugby that we have seen the boys play throughout the year. Again, the referee controlled the game perfectly, and despite probably coming second, the Forest boys put on a fantastic show.

Post match we were invited to treated to participate in a traditional ceremony, which included an exchange of gifts, a prayer, and the players eating a light meal with the Natabua team. The ceremony was led by the Sports Master, who, incidentally, was the first Fijian to prop for his country in the first World cup.

To say the whole experience was memorable, would be an understatement, and would not do it justice.

We’ll sign off for now, just getting to Plantation Is for our next adventure.

Regards

Nigel & Rob

 

 

 

 

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