“This is the first time for Cakaudrove to reach the semifinal and now people in the province are starting to show their interest for the team, which is good.”
Royal Tea Ranadi Cup semi-finalists Cakaudrove. Photo: Shratika Naidu
The emergence of Cakaudrove in the Royal Tea Ranadi Cup semifinal has boosted women’s rugby in the province.
Speaking to SUNsports on Wednesday, Cakaudrove women’s rugby coach Ana Seru said they have been faced with many challenges.
“The team has been playing in the Ranadi Cup for the past three years and no one seemed to take us seriously,” she said.
“This is the first time for Cakaudrove to reach the semifinal and now people in the province are starting to show their interest for the team, which is good.”
Seru said most of the players in the team come from various parts of the province, Taveuni, Karoko, Buca Bay, Naweni and Wailevu.
“For training we’ve have it in Savusavu, some of the girls come to stay with me while the others stay with their relatives,” she said.
The youngest player in the squad is 17 years-old while the oldest is 25. Cakaudrove upset Ba 24-23 in the Ranadi Cup quarterfinal and this morning takes on Vatukoula in the semifinal at Subrail Park, Labasa.
“Honestly, we don’t know anything about the Vatukoula team especially on their strengths and weaknesses. For us, we’ve been working on our mistakes from the Ba game and how we could improve on our game,” Seru said.
She said their target is to win the Ranadi Cup and make it to the Marama Championship next season.
The other semifinal also played today is between Kadavu and Macuata at Lawaqa Park, Sigatoka. Both semi-finals kick-off at 11am.
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