University team celebrate unique village visit

A rugby sevens team from the South Island had a unique trip that brought them closer to Fijian culture.

The Otago University Seafarers Club sent both a men's and women's team to compete in the Fiji Cup tournament in Sigatoka. The women finished in third place, while the men were eliminated in the quarter finals.

Players walking alongside locals in the Narewa village. Photo/Pele Seilala Malatai.

In addition to their successful performance, women's coach Jekope Maiono said that a visit to a local village provided players with a special experience.

“These girls, they know how to play sevens. But adding that element of going to a village and be with the community, sharing those moments together, that’s how we build relationships.

“That’s how we plant those seeds to all those little kids to inspire to one day come to New Zealand, to go to University, or do whatever they want to do.

“Now we go to Fiji to play Sevens, at the same time we can also impact some of our community to we can inspire them and plant those seeds for them, to one day come to New Zealand to study.

Maiono said most of the players were students, and during their visit to Narewa Village in Nadi, they had special exchanges with the locals.

“I spoke to some elders and people in the village, all they know is wanting to be a lawyer, an engineer, a teacher. Some of the students that went have double degrees. There are so many combinations to choose from.

“We have players who are studying to be a psychologist, who want to be an accountant or in law. There are so many topics to choose from in study in New Zealand our people in the community in Fiji can aspire to, and start thinking of at an early age.

“That for me was the most important part, not only for our students to look at things through a different lens but also for our people to kind of get some idea on what they can do when they come to New Zealand.”

In addition to their visit to Narewa, Maiono said the teams visited the infamous sand dunes, a training ground for Fijian rugby teams, including the Olympic Gold medal-winning side from France.

Players atop the Sigatoka Sandunes. Photo/Provided.

Dallas McKnight, captain of the Seafarers Women's side, shared her memorable experience with the locals.

“It was such a cool experience to play some sevens over there and see how high a level it was with the Fijian teams. After the tournament, we spent a day in Fiji and we also spent a day in a village.

“It was a pretty cool experience. I really enjoyed getting to meet the locals, one of the boys' mums lived in the village and she set us up really well.

“It was pretty cool getting to experience that and to hang out with the kids, they were really stoked we were there.”

Now back in Dunedin, the team’s preparing for the upcoming sevens competitions around the country in 2025.

Speaking to one of two Pacific players on the women's side, Pele Seilala Melatai said she was pleased to share the Pacific culture with her teammates.

“They were very interested in how Pacific Islanders live our daily lives, and they would ask questions about work balance, training balance. Jekope told us these players train everyday!

“Playing in the heat was something else was a big challenge in the heat, because in Dunedin it doesn’t get that hot! But they seemed to really enjoy the experience and learning about the Fijian life and how they do things.

“It made me feel proud to be a Pacific Islander in general, a lot of people I went with didn’t know as much about Fiji. But them learning about our Pacific Islands in general was so cool to watch.”

Photo/Pele Seilala Malatai.