World Military Rugby Championship: NZDF Ready for RFMF

The 34-member New Zealand Defence Force team is raring to put up a good game against the World Military Rugby Championship defending champion Republic of Fiji Military Forces when they lock horns in France on Sunday (Fiji time).

A statement yesterday said the side known as the Defence Blacks were in Brittany, France preparing for pool play at the WMRC, the military equivalent of the Rugby World Cup.

“This is our fourth WMRC, which is traditionally played in the same country that hosts the RWC,” the statement said.

“Our 34-strong NZDF team is set for a well-matched lead-in to the tournament; our first game is against the RFMF - winners of the previous two WMRC tournaments.”

RFMF beat the United Kingdom Allied Force (British Army) in the 2019 final.

MZDF had finished fourth, after losing 5–10 to the French Military Forces in the play-off for third place.

The Fiji Army team beat the British Army in the 2015 final.

“Draw from the determination that has marked RFMF’s history. Just as you uphold our nation’s honour, show the same fervour on the rugby field,” President Ratu Wiliame Maivalili Katonivere told the members of the Fijian side before their departure last week.

President Katonivere highlighted the parallels between military discipline and rugby’s teamwork, emphasising that mutual principles of dedication, resilience, and cohesion hold equal significance both in the field of combat and on the rugby field.

He urged the 30-man squad to exemplify these values, both as representatives of their nation and as athletes.

“I am confidence in the team’s ability to continue its winning streak, motivated by the collective strength and dedication that have led you to this point,” he said.

Fiji Army games draw: vs NZDF on Sunday, vs Ireland Army, August 23 and vs Uzbekistan, August 27.

Feedback: karalaini.waqanidrola@fijisun.com.fj