18 December, 2001

No messing... Grammarians in a cheerful mood

Bridging the gap

Suva Grammar’s win over secondary school giants Ratu Kadavulevu School added a new dimension to schools rugby in Fiji. But Grammar’s first victory in the tournament’s 62-year history didn’t just come by chance: it was the culmination of a solid effort from the players, coaches and even parents. Cheerieann Wilson explains.

Grammar’s edge over the other schools also stemmed from the vast amount of experience within their coaching set-up. Their confidence was helped by the addition of Conway Beg and Koli Sewabu as part of the coaching team leading up to the finals.

They provided an extra boost to the training programme of coach Ilai Kuli, who took over the reins in 1993.

Head of Pemac, Isikeli Karikaritu, said national rep Sewabu spent eight weeks with the boys before returning to England club Gloucester.

The team also drew inspiration from Mr Karikaritu, who has been instrumental in the improvement of Grammar’s record in sports this year.

His aim was to develop the sports department as a process to keep students from playing truant.

“If I had my way, I would introduce billiard tables in school and let students use the maximum facilities available so that they will not play truant,” Mr Karikaritu said.

“Sports, especially rugby, provides a springboard for academia. Every Fijian boy wants to go to RKS because sports is very important there,” he added.

As a schoolboy in 1974, the young Karikaritu helped QVS win the Deans Trophy in one of the strongest teams to come out of QVS.

“While at Sila High, many students were offered places at RKS but they were just exploited for their talents and then dumped,” he explained.

When coaching RKS, he told his team to have a long-term goal to win the Deans Trophy when they reached under-19. They did that, then went on to win the trophy three years in row.

Coach Kuli earned the players’ respect because of his long-time commitment to rugby development at Grammar, while his assistant, Jone Mua, was in the Lions team just five years ago, so he played the big brother role for team members.

USP link
Mr Kuli played rugby at the University of the South Pacific in 1979 under the guidance of former national rep Vilikesa Mocelutu. In his third year, he joined the 1st XV at No.8. That was the first and last time USP won the Escott Shield.

He began coaching a long way back while still at QVS; coached Viliame Gadolo at Grammar; Koli Sewabu at Ratu Sukuna Memorial School; and Joeli Vidiri and Marika Korovou at QVS.

His brief spell in refereeing reflects in his players’ understanding of the rules, how they behave on the field and how they respect the referee’s decisions.

He concludes his term as head coach this year to make room for someone younger, and assistant coach Mua is the top candidate to replace him.

Mr Mua studied in New Zealand and brought back new tactics and ideas.
An added bonus was the support from the principal, former national rep Ilikimi Kunagogo, who coached RKS during their earlier hey-days.

“The voluntary support within the school was another factor. The female teachers forked out of their pockets because there were no funds available,” Mr Karikaritu said, adding that they needed the support of others like the Old Students Association as well.

Many parents were very supportive like Master Seru Vosawai, Mr Tabuadua, Mr Uluiviti and Mr Lewaravu, who were always present at training sessions.

“They conducted post-mortems and asked to be included in the after-match meetings,” Mr Karkaritu said. “They made sure they were part of the team’s outings. Mr Matadigo and Mr and Mrs Tuimabualau were the force behind management.”

Educated at QVS, RKS and Marist Brothers High, Mr Karikaritu graduated in science and maths from USP, though many people thought that he was a sports teacher because of his heavy involvement in sports.

Mr Karikaritu also coached some players in the current Tailevu team when at Sila High.

Of course, Grammar had a fine set of players on the field too.

Regular skipper Josefa Maitiro missed the final because of his yellow card in the semi-final victory over Ratu Sukuna Memorial School. But Grammar appeared even more united.

A student of Wesley College from 1996-99, Maitiro was a trialist for the New Zealand under-16 team and also played for Counties secondary schools.

He was a member of the New Zealand school’s training squad in 1998.

Replacement captain and centre Apenisa Tuimabualau took up the new role with panache to open the score with a superb try just 12 minutes into the final.

Then there was the giant prop forward Sikipo Fihaki.

But where to now?
The big question many boys, teachers and parents now ask is ‘where do the boys go from here?’

“The boys have a very high mental concept of the game but there isn’t a programme to bridge the gap from here to the provincial level,” Mr Kuli said.

“These boys have no idea of what to do now, all the effort we have put in to develop rugby at school level ends here. If I had my way, these young players would have been drafted into the training squad for the country,” he said.