“We’ve had our ups and downs but I thank God for giving us the strength to keep fighting.”
Vodafone Fijiana XVs reps (from left) Setaita Railumu, Jennifer Ravutia, Merewalesi Rokouono and Salanieta Kinita in Brisbane, Australia, on June 2, 2024.
The Vodafone Fijiana XVs have qualified for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup in England.
The Merewai Cumu captained- side beat Samoa 27-13 in the final of the Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship in Brisbane, Australia, on Sunday night to qualify.
“We’ve been preparing well just for this tournament for us to qualify,” the burly second-five eighth said.
“I’d like to thank the girls for a job well done and the coaching staff for trusting us throughout the whole tournament.
“We’ve had our ups and downs but I thank God for giving us the strength to keep fighting.”
Looking back at their journey, Cumu said, the bond among the players is really strong.
“You can see during the game, we play our own style and we’ve trusted each other. We’ve just been training for this tournament, to win this competition so that we can qualify for the World Cup.
“I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy and that Samoa was going to come hard at us and you can see that just a few moments ago.
“I’m proud of the girls for fighting right to the final whistle.”
Samoan captain, Sui Pauraisa said they were disappointed with the loss.
“We’ve talked about this before and we’ve got another chance in Dubai to go again and hopefully we will be in the World Cup next year because I know Samoa deserves to be in there,” she said.
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