Fiji’s participation at the Australia National Rugby Championship (NRC) is going to add an international flavour in the competition.

Australian Rugby Union high performance manager Ben Whitaker said the inclusion of Fiji would be a watershed moment for developing competition.

“The NRC continues to grow and with the inclusion of Fiji the 2017 season will have an international flavour which will boost the appeal of the competition for fans even further,” he said.

“The quality of rugby has improved dramatically from year-to-year and it is bound to go up another notch as the NRC enters its fourth season.

“Importantly, the NRC has proven to be a successful platform for player and coach development with graduation into Super Rugby positions at its highest in 2016. Both the players and coaches have overwhelmingly backed the competition, as have the fans, who watched the NRC in record numbers last season.”

PLAYERS ATTRACTION

The Australian teams in the Championship are going field their Super Rugby players and also a number of former Fijian 7s players as well. These are the players (but note there could be changes pending on transfers and injuries), Sydney Rays- Scott Fardy, Cameron Clark, Rob Horne, Michael Hooper, James Brown (former Fiji 7s rep); Queensland Country- Eto Nabuli, Apisai Naiyabo (former Fiji 7s rep), Saia Fainga’a, James Slipper, Taniela Tupou, Brad Thorn; NSW Country Eagles- Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps; Perth Spirit- Dan Haylett-Petty, Ben Tapuai, Luke Luke Morahan, Ben McCalman; Brisbane City- Chris Kuridrani, Samu Kerevi, Isi Naisarani, Kane Douglas, Nick Frisby, Kamichael Hunt; Melbourne Rising- Sefa Naivalu, Marika Koroibete, Tom English, Toby Smith, Sean McMahon; Canberra Vikings- Tevita Kruidrani, Henry Speight, Ben Alexander, Sam Carter, Scott Sio; Greater Sydney Rams- Tom Alexander and Will Skelton.

PASIFIKA ROUND

The competition will again incorporate a Pasifika round, an element that was embraced by many teams last season. The NSW Country Eagles will take games to Armidale, Tamworth and Orange, while Queensland Country will head to the Sunshine Coast for the first time, taking on Brisbane City in Noosa.

GROWTH

The fourth iteration of the competition will be looking to build on the growth of the first three seasons, after a 65 percent increase in viewership and a 10 percent rise in attendances last year.

Edited by Paula Tuvuki

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