There will be many benefits for Ba Rugby if they get a chance to play a pre-season match against the Fijian Drua.

This was the gist of Ba Rugby Union secretary Gaby Kautoga’s interview with SUNsports yesterday.

“It will boost the morale and spirit of the boys knowing that they’ll be playing against these bigger players that they look up to,” Kautoga said.

“It’ll be really good for them (players) as they’ll gain more experience as well.” Kautoga commended the initiative from the Fijian Drua franchise club in supporting the provincial unions. It’s not just preparing the Drua for the upcoming season but preparing the provincial union teams as well.

“There’s a delay in the schedule for the upcoming season so it’s a good time to give our players some game time,” he said.

“One of our visions is to lift the level of the game in Ba and setting it on a high platform.”

Kautoga said their players would be exposed to a different environment by playing against the Drua.

“We need our players to be more focused in terms of the peer pressure that’s coming in and we are into the festive season where a lot of people will lose focus on their preparation,” he said.

“We breed our own local based- players and try to get them up to that level.”

Kautoga said they have told the players that they’ll get exposure and might even get recruited to the Drua if they impress the coaching staff.

FRU AGM

Meanwhile, Kautoga said Ba Rugby intends to resolve the jersey issue with Fiji Rugby at Saturday’s Annual General Meeting in Suva.

“If only they (FRU) can include an open sponsorship instead of a closed sponsorship,” he said.

“Like we can wear our own brand like merchandise with BLK (Beyond Limits Known) instead of the jersey designed by Jack’s of Fiji.”

Kautoga said they were disqualified in their first Skipper Cup match against Suva due to the jersey issue.

“We wore the BLK jersey, I think if there can be an open sponsorship because it’s the only way we promote our sponsors,” he said.

“Also FRU is not giving that much funds towards our development and we’re thankful to our sponsors who’s jumped in and help us in the season.”

Kautoga also highlighted the problem of communication breakdown with Rugby House.

“We just heard that the Skipper Cup competition will be moved to August as it can spoil any of our preparations that’s been done,” he said.

“Sometimes we can email FRU, but it takes them months to respond and it’s very hard here in Ba to travel right to Suva,” he added.

Feedback: ioane.asioli@fijisun.com.fj