Best from Four Zones to Clash in Inaugural Na Soko Rugby Franchise Competition

Fiji's top young rugby talent from the nation's four secondary school zones will converge for the inaugural Na Soko Franchise Competition. This new event follows the conclusion of the Vodafone Deans and Weet-Bix Raluve competitions, bringing together Under-16 and Under-18 players for both boys and girls.

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The four zones are coming in with their Under-16 girls and Under-18 girls teams and also Under-16 boys and Under-18 boys teams. So that is coming in for the first time to be meeting the other teams from the four zones.

Biu Colati, Fiji Secondary Schools Rugby Union Vice President of Development, explained that teams from the North, East, West, and South zones will compete against each other. "The four zones are coming in with their Under-16 girls and Under-18 girls teams and also Under-16 boys and Under-18 boys teams. So that is coming in for the first time to be meeting the other teams from the four zones," Colati said.

The competition, a collaborative effort between Fiji Rugby, the Fiji Secondary Schools Rugby Union, and the Ministry of Education, is designed as a talent identification platform. Colati likened it to the national trials traditionally held after the school season. "This is almost like the trials that we normally hold after each competition year where we want to select a national team."

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This is almost like the trials that we normally hold after each competition year where we want to select a national team.

For the first time, selectors will use this competition to identify national squads across four categories: Under-16 boys, Under-18 boys, Under-16 girls, and Under-18 girls. "The coaches and selectors are going to be there to try and put together a national team that we can rightly call the Fiji Secondary Schools girls and boys team," Colati added. While national selection is a primary goal, he noted that the program is in its initial stages, with no tours currently promised.

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The coaches and selectors are going to be there to try and put together a national team that we can rightly call the Fiji Secondary Schools girls and boys team.