DistantNews
Support us
🇫🇯 Fiji /Sports

Durutalo reflects on Grammar’s Deans journey

From FBC News · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Former Suva Grammar School representative Andrew Durutalo views the Deans campaign as a journey of lessons learned through adversity, emphasizing post-school rugby development.
  • Durutalo highlighted the importance of setbacks in his team's journey, noting that many players from the 2005-06 campaigns went on to become international rugby players.
  • He believes the Deans campaign should be a beginning, not an end, stressing the responsibility to guide young players' growth in sport, education, and life beyond schoolboy rugby.

For Andrew Durutalo, a former representative of Suva Grammar School, the Deans campaign signifies more than just winning a trophy. He emphasizes the journey, the lessons learned through adversity, and, crucially, the development of young players after their schoolboy rugby careers conclude. Durutalo's own experience began in 2004 when Grammar's Under-17 team narrowly lost to Lelean Memorial School's highly-rated "Dream Team."

The following day, the team embarked on a rugby tour to New Zealand, an experience Durutalo believes was instrumental in their development. A year later, many of these players joined forces with the grade above for their first Deans campaign. They reached the 2005 final, drawing with an RKS "Dream Team," and returned in 2006, only to fall short against another formidable Lelean side. Durutalo considers these setbacks as valuable as the successes.

Deans should never be the end game. It should be the beginning of the journey.

— Andrew DurutaloAndrew Durutalo's philosophy on the significance of the Deans campaign for young rugby players.

"Sometimes losing teaches you what winning cannot," he stated. These experiences instilled perseverance in the group and underscored the importance of returning, improving, and repeating the effort. The true measure of that generation, Durutalo noted, was not the trophies but their subsequent achievements. Eleven players from the 2005-06 campaigns went on to represent Fiji, Japan, Italy, Samoa, and the United States at the international level, while others reached the highest echelons of professional rugby, including France's Top 14 league.

Durutalo firmly believes that the Deans journey should serve as a starting point, not a final destination. He feels a responsibility to ensure that young players continue to grow beyond school rugby, not only in their athletic pursuits but also in their education and overall life development. Adding a layer of historical significance, the coach who guided Grammar's Under-17 team in 2004, himself a Deans winner in 2001, is now the SGS Under-18 head coach, continuing to shape the next generation of Grammar rugby talent.

Sometimes losing teaches you what winning cannot.

— Andrew DurutaloAndrew Durutalo reflecting on the valuable lessons learned from past rugby campaign setbacks.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by FBC News. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog