My piece on the PRC for Teivovo #55: PRC takes a tumble After some smashing seasons of elite-level cross-border rugby, the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup took a big step backwards in 2014 as the Australian Rugby Union virtually hijacked the tournament for their own development purposes. For a competition designed to help local players in the Pacific Islands to take a step towards Test rugby, the Grand Final ended up between the Queensland Reds A and the Argentinian Pampas. Defending champions the TFL Fiji Warriors, who have done so well in recent years against Super Rugby A sides in Australia and New Zealand as well as Tonga A and Samoa A, were only given three decent matches, supplemented with two against age grade sides. That compares to the eight competitive games they played in 2012 and the six last year. In addition to the inferior schedule, the tournament administration also took a bit of a dive with the IRB deciding that full match details should not be shared with the media, possibly because of the number of errors being picked up. Even the run-on team sheets were notably absent from the FORU website. Add to this the disciplinary issues suffered by Samoa and Fiji, and the tournament was pretty much a mess. Samoa A replacement hooker Ausetalia Vaiomanu was banned for 32 weeks for deliberately shoulder-charging the back of referee Ed Martin after his side’s 38-24 loss to the Argentina Pampas XV on 11 March. And the Fiji Rugby Union is now on the back foot after allegations of misbehaviour by some of the Warriors management and players. On the field, the Lance Whippy coached Warriors performed well, winning four of their five matches reasonably comfortably after dropping their opener 22-19 to the Reds A. Lack of warm-up matches because of low funds was cited as a possible drawback in Fiji’s preparation. Fiji’s experience in the pack, led by Test reps Rupeni Nasiga, Nemani Nagusa, Peni Ravai and Jerry Naureure, put them in good stead; but it was really Fiji’s backs that stepped up – Nadro’s 22-year-old wing Savenaca Rawaca grabbed a tournament-high seven tries and Nadi’s Sainivalati Ramuwai was dominant in the centres. But the player that shone most brightly was probably Tailevu’s young halfback-cum-fullback Emori Waqa. Equally comfortable at the base of the scrum or patrolling the last line of defence, Waqa showed impressive attacking skills and some nifty goal kicking, earning three tries and 10 conversions after taking over duties from Jiuta Lutumailagi. For the 30 Fiji Warriors that travelled to Australia, this year’s PRC would no doubt have brought some benefits, but it’s just a little sad that the after eight years of progression the tournament has taken a backwards step. ==END
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 23:15:50 +0000
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