Momoedonu: My Heart Is With The Drua
Raikabula Momoedonu battled hard to recover from the injuries he sustained while playing for Northland in the New Zealand Rugby’s National Provincial Championship (NPC).
He revealed this to SUNsports during an interview at Port Denarau on Saturday night, indicating that he is hopeful of getting back into the Match 23 squad.
The 24-year-old highlighted that it has been a worthwhile experience where he has learned a lot.
“Last year I had a couple of injuries and didn’t have a great off season,” he said.
“These injuries take a bit of a risk and I’m trying to sort my way out of danger. Hopefully, I can be back for the last couple of games.”
Just a glance
The former Queen Victoria School student captained the Fijian Under-20 side that won the 2018 World Rugby U20 Trophy in Romania. Members of that U20 side in the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua squad are, Tevita Ikanivere, Caleb Muntz, Isoa Nasilasila, Simione Kuruvoli, Meli Tuni and Vilive Miramira. Emosi Tuqiri is playing for the Rebels while Ilaisa Droasese is with the Reds.
Back home
Momoedonu came off the bench to make his Super Rugby Pacific debut against the Brumbies.
He is keeping his fingers crossed on the possibility of playing against the Highlanders in Suva, this Saturday. Momoedonu last played in Fiji in 2017.
“Representing a Fiji team, is pretty special because at the end of the day, it is for my family who’ve been supporting me and for the people that I care about.
“It is a great feeling to be back home for the boys and the franchise. We feel proud to be playing on home soil for the first time. We are looking forward to it.
“It is another week of hard work and we want to go out there to play hard and make our family and Fiji proud as well.”
Momoedonu said they are excited and want all their fans to come out in numbers to support them at the ANZ Stadium.
“We want to see all the smiling faces and their big cheers. We want to see a full house. The message to the fans is that this is your team.”
Momoedonu indicated that the resilience among the players was that they knew what it was like to play right from the grassroots level.
“This is because we all have a similar background, same struggles, same challenges faced each day. It’s always that feeling. We are always emotional as we shed a couple of tears for our families and looking back at our journey.
“I can’t imagine playing for any other franchise. At the moment, my heart and soul is with this team.”
