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Marist Brothers High School 1965 Senior Team

We are grateful to Professor Esala Teleni for sharing this photo and recollections of the 1965 MBHS First XV

Source:

ozmoborg.ipage.com/mbhs---1961-to…

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Brothers in Blood

Here you have 3 sets of biological siblings who will feature in the World Cup this month in Japan. The Barrett’s, The Matavesi’s & Tuisova with his brother Nakosi

Question, would Fiji be a worlds first if we play both sets of brothers in a particular World Cup Match?

Regardless of whatever the case maybe, it would be a combination worth a watch this World Cup

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Brothers in Blood

Here you have 3 sets of biological siblings who will feature in the World Cup this month in Japan. The Barrett’s, The Matavesi’s & Tuisova with his brother Nakosi

Question, would Fiji be a worlds first if we play both sets of brothers in a particular World Cup Match?

Regardless of whatever the case maybe, it would be a combination worth a watch this World Cup

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#FijiRugby #Rugby #Tuisova #Nakosi #Matavesi #RugbyWorldCup

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7s Heaven in Japense

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Matt Giteau Describes Fijian Rugby

Watch full movie on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/nQO5WNb7qIY

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Matt Giteau Try’s The Sigatoka Sand Dunes

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email: [email protected]

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Fiji Club & School Rugby We showcase and feature local Fiji Club & School Rugby as much as popssible, because we understand these are

Rugby Cat Out Of The Bag onto Field

The 2017 Ireland Women’s Rugby World Cup was the last time that a Rugby World Cup for Women, will ever be referred to in such a way that specifies that the tournament is only for women.

The move by World Rugby is the first by any major sporting federations, making a bold statement of equality. However World Rugby’s efforts for gender neutrality may prove to more than what women bargained for in the end.

While the rebranding of the tournament or standardizing of it, brings about thoughts of inclusiveness, togetherness and oneness it may very well be an oversell.

At the end of the day the new and neutral name may not guarantee equality in pay, because of the simple fact of the matter which is that men’s rugby tournaments put more bums in seats than women’s tournaments, which is the harsh reality that women face.

The rebranding provides the opportunity of confusion and grey areas, potentially where biological born males who identify as females have legal rights through gender neutralness to perform in either of the two tournaments they feel comfortable in. Now for something that was done for equality, that would be plain and simply unfair.

There are multiple cases of these occurrences in sport happening all over where sports women are arguing their case, and rugby through the Rugby World Cup may just as well have openhed the door for it to roam free having the exact opposite effect it intended, and rest assured rugby will never be the same should this occur.

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Gentle giants who left big impression

THEIR arrival in October 1961 caused quite a stir. For once, the spotlight was on Rochdale for all the right reasons

Television crews swarmed all over town, national newspapers had reporters and photographers were on the spot and Rochdale Hornets RLFC was the centre of attention.

The reason? The arrival of two rugby union stars from the other side of the world - Fijians Orisi Dawai and Joe Levula

More of their countrymen were to follow them to the Athletic Grounds, but the impact Dawai and Levula had on the people of Rochdale was immediate. Rochdalians took them to their hearts. Rarely, if ever, can two people have made so many friends in such a short space of time

Outgoing, courteous, forever smiling, they were welcomed with open arms wherever they went. People wanted to be in their company, not because they were sporting celebrities, but because they were simply very decent, friendly people

On the field wingman Levula, a giant of a man, was a sensation. He scored many spectacular tries and quickly became the target of bigger clubs. He eventually moved to Bradford Northern, but by then age was catching up and he did not have the same impact. Hornets had had his best rugby league years

Dawai, older than Levula, was past his prime and made little impact at the club. But he was the quiet one, the leader of the Fijian colony in town, the most mild mannered of men and in the few first team games he played, he showed the occasional flash of rugby ability that suggested he must have been an outstanding player in his younger days

Sadly, Dawai died at a young age, but those who met him and got to know him remembered him as a very special person

Levula and Dawai were quickly followed by Voate Drui, the brother of Dawai and Liatia Ravouvou, a giant of a man with a happy-go-lucky spirit which was reflected in his play. He had many gifts, but believed life was for living

Totally different in outlook was the next arrival from Fiji - the mighty Apisai Toga, unquestionably the best of them all. A fast, rugged second-row forward, he soon became a marked man, no matter the opposition

His fame quickly spread and before long the lure of Australia and, in particular, the then all-powerful St George club, proved too strong

Toga's life was tragically cut short, dying an extremely painful death after suffering coral poisoning while swimming off the Australia coast just prior to the start of a new rugby season down under. His passing devastated the many pals he had made in his too-short stay in Rochdale

One of Hornets' last Fijian signings was a young soldier from the Royal Signals - wingman Mike Ratu, who married a Rochdale girl and eventually had the pride and pleasure of watching his son Emon make his mark in professional rugby league with Swinton and Hornets

The Ratus still live in town, as does Voate Drui, who went on to become a valued member of the community and an always willing-to-oblige taxi driver

Other Fijians came and went, but the memory of those glorious days in the sixties will live forever in the minds of those lucky enough to be considered friends by the friendliest of folks from those sunny islands in the southern Pacific.

Source:

[ Manchester Evening News ]

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/gentle-giants-who-left-big-1040764

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Fiji Rugby Step

Meeting Mr Toga

Monday, 29 June 2015

I pressed ‘send’ and my hand was actually shaking.

When you’ve grown up with the name Apisai Toga spoken in awe, given legendary status - a mountain of a man, made folklore - sending a text to his brother inviting him to lunch felt like a momentus action.

Inosi Toga - that’s pronoucned ’Tonga’ everyone - played alongside his late brother at the St George club at Kogarah in the Southern suburbs of Sydney for three years; drawn to the club at Apisai’s insistence to test himself in a competition the Dragons had dominated for a decade. It was, at the time, world club Rugby League’s sternest challenge.

Fast forward fifty years and I’m melting in the heat of Sydney’s Autumn heatwave. I’ve been stood in the shade at Circular Quay for an hour. Inosi’s text says that the traffic is awful and he’ll be late.

I’d spent a couple of days wondering how it’d feel to finally close the loop on the story of a genuine Rugby League giant. Inosi had said in his emails how honoured he was that the club remembered ‘Api’ with such reverence, love and respect. How he treasured the medal that would be taken ‘home’ to Fiji to rest alongside his brother.

From tracking him down in the midsts of a cold, wet UK autumn, to standing here outside the MacDonalds on the corner of Alfred Street, it had been an exciting, emotional journey - but as the minutes ticked by there was a realisation that - for both of us - this was a pretty big moment.

Then there he was. Squeezed behind the wheel of a small hatchback, a grin as wide as the harbour bridge, a shovel of a hand extended through the open window. “Jim,” he boomed, “my friend. I am sorry we’re late.”

Alongside Inosi was his wife Olivia, dressed in a brightly coloured dress: “I asked Olivia to wear something traditionally Fijian, then you would know it was us” he laughed. For the first of many times, Olivia raised her eyebrows in mock exasperation and invited me to sit in the front passenger seat.

“I’ve arranged for us to have lunch at the St George Leagues Club”, said Inosi, pausing to take a call from Steve ‘the sledge-hammer’ Edge. Edge was the St. George Dragons hooker in their 14th and 15th grand final wins who played alongside Apisai and Inosi (he also captained the Parramatta Eels to their 1st, 2nd and 3rd premierships - and was NSW’s Hooker in the inaugural State of Origin in 1980.).

He is now on the management team at St George and Inosi had lined up a meeting in honour of my visit. I suddenly felt a bit under-dressed…

As Inosi steered the car out of the city and down the Princes Highway, he told me Api’s story.

He said that Apisai was not just a gifted footballer, but a prodigious athelete - the very best of an emerging generation of Fijian rugby talent. He saw the opportunity to play in England as a chance to mature and develop his game - and he often spoke of how playing for Hornets in the cold, the wet and the mud of an uncompromising competition gave him the harder edge he needed to become a world-class footballer.

When St George came knocking he saw that as the ultimate challenge - the best side in the best competition in the world. He was a revelation in the second row - a genuine star. Inosi admitted that he didn’t have Api’s skills, but when your big brother calls and says ‘come play alongside me in Sydney’, it’s a hard offer to turn down.

Inosi spoke of how the club employed the Toga boys as ‘painters’ at the League’s club - given overalls and step-ladders to do odd-jobs around the club as a ‘day-job’ around their training. I get the impression that they didn’t do a lot of painting.

Then Inosi spoke of the event that tore his family apart. Reporting for training after a visit home, Api didn’t feel right - carrying an infected cut he’d picked up whilst swimming during his break. Api was running alongside Inosi and Steve Edge at Kogarah Park when he collapsed. He was rushed to hospital, but died of his infection.

The shockwave hit the Toga family hard. Inosi had always seen his big brother as invincible: “He was my hero, I looked up to him”.

Api’s body was taken home.The St George club persuaded Inosi not to go to the Funeral: “They knew that if I went home, my mother would want me to stay. That I wouldn’t come back”, he said, his voice almost a whisper.

Within a year, his mother too was dead (“… of a broken heart”) and, in 1974, St George released Inosi from his contract. He had no club, no family and, it seemed, no prospects alone in a city far from home. After a move to play Queensland Cup fell through, Inosi called it a day on his career.

“I was in a dark place,” he said. “I would find myself in ‘the Cross’ (King’s Cross was - and is - a notorious district of clubs, bars, strip joints and massage parlours) - drinking, picking fights, women…” his voice trailed away. Olivia squeezed his shoulder.

He told me that in the darkest of those days, he needed to find another path if he were to avoid the worst possble fate. “I knew nothing of God”, he said, “But I knew I needed something”.

In 1980 Inosi joined a local church - seeking support and solace. It was the alternative path he was looking for. With renewed purpose and a new outlook on life, he became a pastor and transformed his life.

Recently retired he’s still actively involved in community work and it’s clear how appreciative he is that he got a second chance.

Arriving at the St George League’s club ‘Mr Toga’ is warmly welcomed at reception and we are shown through to the restaurant. Steve Edge greets us with a crushing handshake - and thrusts a huge parcel of St George memorabilia into my hands. It’s a hell of a welcome.

Inosi and Olivia hoot with laughter as I present him with one of Hornets’ Fiji-themed world-cup away shirts. “Palm trees - on an English jersey…”

Over lunch Inosi tells me of plans in Fiji to launch a 7s tournament in Apisai’s memory, of how he will tell the people ‘back home’ of the respect and generosity of the people at Rochdale Hornets.

But most of all - again and again - he thanks us all for remembering his brother.

Source:

[Rochdale Rugby League Heritage]

http://rochdalerlheritage.blogspot.com/2015/06/test-post-goes-here.html?m=1

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