Fiji and Papua New Guinea face each other in a winner-takes-all Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship match on Saturday to decide which of the sides will progress to the final Women's Rugby World Cup 2017 qualifier event in December.
That tournament will feature two Asian sides alongside Fiji or PNG, with the two highest-placed teams qualifying for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 in Ireland next August. New Zealand and Australia have already qualified for WRWC 2017 from the Oceania region via their top-seven finish at the last edition of the tournament in 2014.
While Fiji’s women’s sevens team is well-established on the HSBC World Rugby Women's Sevens Series and finished eighth at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, this will only be the third test to be played by Fijiana 15s and the first to be played on Fijian soil.
It is 10 years since Fiji’s women took to the field for an international 15s match, a 52-5 win away to Tonga, while Papua New Guinea will be creating history as this will be their maiden women’s international.
PNG MAKE HISTORY
“Preparations have been good, we had our first training session after arriving on Wednesday. Everyone’s excited and looking forward to playing the game on Saturday,” declared PNG captain Margaret Naua.
“Fiji has been very welcoming. We like the hospitality of the people and would love to come back and play again here. I have told the team to go out there, play hard, play as a team and give your best.”
With the Oceania Rugby Sevens Championship getting underway in just a week's time, Fiji haven’t been able to draft in any of the sevens players who did their country proud at Rio.
Nevertheless, they will start as favourites but Fiji captain Lailanie Burnes insists complacency won’t be a problem.
“The atmosphere in camp is one of excitement, we are ready for the challenge ahead of us. The team has gelled well and is working together to accomplish our goal which is winning this game on Saturday,” she said.
“The team is not taking this lightly because at the end of the day we representing not only ourselves, our clubs, our families but we have an entire nation upon our shoulders and we want to make everyone is proud out there. We want to show the world what Fiji women can do especially in the arena of 15s rugby.”
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
Saturday’s match is not only an opportunity for Fiji to keep their WRWC 2017 dream alive but also to kick gender inequality into touch.
The Fiji Rugby Union have struck up a partnership with UN Women to support women in sport, and a lot of promotional work supporting the venture has taken place in the build up to the match with Papua New Guinea.
“Women have been playing 15s since 1999 and they have overcome some hurdles to get where we are today and we are proud of what all Fijiana players have achieved for women in the sport, and with the support of UN Women we can do more,” said Burnes.
Meanwhile, Fijiana 15s coach and Rugby World Cup star Seremaia Bai hopes Saturday’s match will have twin benefits
“We want our team to win on Saturday not just for the glory and to keep our Rugby World Cup dreams alive, but to highlight the positive impact sport can have for our communities and how Fiji national women players are role models for us all,” he said.
"We want our team to win on Saturday not just for the glory and to keep our Rugby World Cup dreams alive, but to highlight the positive impact sport can have for our communities and how Fiji national women players are role models for us all"
“Through sport we can equal the playing field between men and boys and women and girls so that all of Fiji’s exceptional sporting talent is celebrated and skills learnt through sport have a positive flow through effect in our schools, workplaces, villages and homes.”
The new partnership between UN Women and the Fiji Rugby Union focuses on reducing gender inequalities through sport aligning with UN Women’s global commitment to supporting girls and women in sport to become healthier, stronger, more confident and empowered. Sport is recognised as a way for women and girls to learn leadership, mentoring, and team skills which can easily be translated into other areas of their lives.