The second weekend of the Israel Regional Rugby Tournament created modest history. The Fijian ‘Ai Matai’ team of the peace keeping taskforce, was the first visiting sports team to play in Israel since the start of the war. The visitors defeated the local Northern Stars 27-19 and will now face the Golden Jackals for the inaugural ‘Israel – Pacific Challenge Cup’ – as the Jackals defeated the Stars in the opening game.
It was a unique rugby day for the fans at the Yizre-el rugby field. The visitors, managed by Captain Rev. Wame Boselawa and skippered by Warrant Officer II Josefa Seniloli, often thrilled with the outstanding running rugby associated with Fiji.
Equally impressive was their humility and friendship, complimented by the beautiful singing of their fans. “We are very blessed to be here and thank Rugby Israel for the opportunity to be part of the league. Ai Matai is here to support Israel rugby, especially during these difficult times when we believe rugby can bring people together,” said Lieutenant Colonel Atonio Nagauna, commander of the Ai Matai battalion.
Rugby Israel CEO, Offer Fabian, warmly thanked the visitors: “It goes beyond today’s match. During the months of war when many of our players were called up for national duty, our Fijian brothers completed the numbers and helped us maintain rugby activity. I would like to thank every player personally and specially thank Colonel Nagauna who made it all possible.”
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Rugby Israel national team coach and technical director, Kevin Musikanth, summed up the match: “A good second game for the Northern Stars. We saw improvement in discipline and scrum from the first match. In the end they may feel disappointed after pulling back to 22-19 and being close for such a long period.” Musikanth singled out the Stars’ flanker Tommy Spiers and the visitors’ fly-half, Douglas Daveta, as the top performers.
