ANZ Marama Cup: Emerging 15-year Olds in Naitasiri Under 20 Women’s Team
The Naitasiri Under 20 women’s team is full of young athletes on the rise; two of them are still in school and are only 15 years old.
Today, during the scheduled ANZ Marama Cup encounter, our squad got to catch up with these developing players who got a taste of provincial rugby when their team played Suva at Bidesi Park. This gave the two young players an opportunity to show bravery in both attack and defense against their much older opponents.
Merewalesi Rokovalagi, an Assembly of God (AOG) student in year 10, has played rugby since elementary school and has furthered her personal growth by participating in the Weetbix Raluve secondary school girls competition.
A player to watch as she advances with the Naitisiri Women’s Under 20 team is Rokovalagi, who likes to play at locks.Players in its ranks are between the ages of 17 and 18.
Amalaini Seuraki, the other 15-year-old, who was born in Viria Naitasiri and has maternal ties to Kadavu, began playing rugby this year and says she is loving it, especially when she plays wing for the developing Naitasiri women’s team.
The quiet Dilkusha High School student in year ten, who only began playing rugby for her school last year, says she hopes to play rugby professionally and become a soldier after graduation.
Although Rokovalagi and Seuraki shared that they were informed to sit out the competition since they were under the age of 18, the regulations of the recent Fiji Bitter 7s competition prevented them from playing for their respective teams.Players under the age of eighteen are not permitted to compete.
Jolame Ratu, the manager of the Naitasiri Women’s Under 20 team, thinks that their game against formidable rivals from the capital city gave their squad, which is made up of young players ages 15 to 20, valuable exposure.
Ratu states that this is a component of their four-year development plan and that they anticipate positive outcomes as they see this team through to 2028, with the emerging players joining the team at the appropriate age of 20 in the not too distant future.
After Nadi (28 points) and Suva (30 points), the Naitasiri team is presently in third place with 23 points in the ANZ Marama Cup Championship.
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