In some amazing news for Rugby League a team from Fiji has finally be admitted into the Ron Massey Cup for the 2020 season with an eye on promotion to the Century Cup.
The Fijian NSWRL bid team has been working for a number of years for entry into one of the NSWRL competitions. Looking to emulate the Papua New Guinea Hunters in the Queensland Cup, having a Fijian team based in Australia will provide a direct pathway for Fijian talent in the Rugby League development ladder and allow Fijian players to enter Australia’s Rugby League system surrounded by good support networks.
This is a huge step for the game and hopefully leads to similar teams for Tonga and Samoa. If these teams can build slowly through the NSWRL system, build supporter bases and sponsorship to the right levels, we could see these teams join the NRL one day as true international expansion clubs.
Fiji produces so much top of the line Rugby League talent. I have always been surprised that NRL clubs haven’t searched for more talent from Fiji. When you look at the impact of players such as Noa Nadruku, Petero Civoniceva, Akuila Uate, Lote Tuqiri, Semi Radradra, Suliasi Vunivalu, Viliame Kikau and Maika Sivo on the NRL and international Rugby League in general, the talent that comes out of Fiji is nothing short of incredible.
