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Members of the Emirates Western Force squad and RugbyWA Academy will travel to Fiji in January to take part in the Digicel Suva Rugby Festival as the build up to the 2010 Investec Bank Super 14 competition continues.
The WA side will compete in the International Sevens section alongside teams from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Manawatu, and Hong Kong.
RugbyWA General Manager, Rugby, Mitch Hardy, said the club was keen to take part in the Festival, and looking forward to the trip.
“The Emirates Western Force team that we will bring to Suva will be a highly competitive side,” Hardy said.
“Our squad will consist of players not involved in the to-be-confirmed trial phase in late January, with RugbyWA Academy players also in the selection frame.
“The Digicel Suva Rugby Festival provides us with a great opportunity as the club embarks on a new programme for Sevens rugby in 2010.
“Sevens is another pathway for WA players to enter representative ranks, and (Academy member) Zack Holmes being selected for Australia last week shows that there are talented guys in the State who can press for higher honours."
The Festival’s Organising Committee Chairman, Vilikesa Rauca, said the presence of a Super Rugby franchise gives the tournament a tremendous boost.
“Since their entry into Super 14 competition in 2006, the Western Force have quickly established themselves as a contender,” Mr Rauca said.
“This will be their first trip to Fiji, so we want to make it memorable for them from the point of view of rugby as well as hospitality.”
The International Sevens section of the Digicel Suva Rugby Festival will comprise of eight teams from overseas, with eight of Fiji’s top provinces and clubs that qualify through the Suva Sevens Series of tournaments beginning this weekend.
Held 15-23 January 2010 at various venues in the capital, the Festival will involve more than 200 rugby teams and is the start of the build-up towards Suva Rugby’s centenary festivities in 2012.
http://rugbywa.com.au/news/article,56642.html
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