Fiji U19 gears up for Oceania tourney August 20, 2008
Following the successful completion of the Deans competition, the Fiji Secondary Schools Rugby Union has named a strong 60 member U19 squad to compete in the Federated Oceania Rugby Union tourney scheduled for next month.
Fiji will compete in the IRB sanctioned tournament alongside Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue and Papua New Guinea while powerhouses Australia and New Zealand will not feature.
Fiji U19 official Uraia Toribau said the tournament would provide the youngsters with a perfect opportunity to showcase their talents to the national selectors and some overseas scouts that are expected to attend the tourney.
“The players have come out fresh from the Deans competition and will get a chance to prove their worth in national colors in the tournament which will feature Pacific’s best youngsters, said Toribau.
“We will have our trial and fitness test tomorrow after which the 60 member squad will be reduced to 26.
“The final 26 players will then march into camp at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Nabua where they will undergo training for a week before traveling to Nadi for the tournament.
“We have the depth in the squad and it will be a difficult task for the selectors to pick the final team tomorrow” he added.
The fitness test commences at 9am tomorrow at the Hyundai Fitness Centre in Suva.
The Federated Oceania Rugby Union tournament gets underway at Prince Charles Park on September 3.