Suva eyes Navosa win
After five losses this season, Suva is focused on cutting penalties and improving decision-making.
Friday 09 October 2026 | 09:30
FMF Suva senior men's rugby team at Buckhurst Park, Suva.
Photo: Tevita Wesele
The FMF Suva senior men’s rugby team manager, Ulaiasi Butukoro, says the team must improve its discipline and play to the final whistle if it is to beat Navosa in today’s Skipper Cup clash at Lawaqa Park, Sigatoka.
“Our expectation is to finish strong after coming out of a loss to Taveuni,” he said.
“It will be a physical encounter against Navosa, so we need to properly execute our game plan.”
Butukoro added that a win would give the team confidence heading into the quarter-finals next week.
“Consistency has been an issue throughout the season as we’ve lost five games and won four,” he said.
“We had maximised our bonus points in losses in those five games, so all those matches were close games.
“We’ve been trying to work on our consistency, particularly our discipline.”
Butukoro said the team would need to cut down on penalties.
“We should not give away possessions that we should have held on to and build momentum. We need to improve our decision-making, particularly in possession, and build momentum to get our players across the line.”
Butukoro said the team also needed to improve its decision-making in defence.
“We have been working with our defensive organisation and maintaining a strong defensive system to protect our scoring line.
“We are familiar with what Navosa brings to the table as they like to play a very quick-tempo game, and we’re looking into areas in which to counter that.”
The Suva rugby team has also been working on its set-piece play and communication.
“We need to establish ourselves well in the competition in this last game to ensure that we finish strong and prepare ourselves for the quarter-finals.
“The motivation for these players is to win the Skipper Cup competition and that’s the motivation for all the teams.”
He added that competition among the 12 teams had been tight over the past 10 rounds.
“We are requesting our Suva rugby family to come out in numbers as we take on Navosa at Lawaqa Park. We are preparing well to give a good game.”
The match kicks off at 2pm.
