Over 80 miilion sets of eyes are on Fiji.

The action packed ANZ Pacific Nations Cup is showcasing rugby; it is also boosting Fiji tourism to the world.  

On the playing fields of Lautoka, Sigatoka & Suva are some of most explosive players in world rugby; we have ex All Blacks, nearly All Blacks & a vast scattering of professional players from around the world. Men have flown in from Europe, Japan & NZ & they have brought their muscles and talent to light up Fiji.

Although the players are all here for hard work, intense running and fierce matches, they also get a little bit of chill time in Fiji. It doesn’t take long for Fijitime to kick in either. All of a sudden you are walking significantly slower, less things worry you & life makes sense. The hard part is for the coaches to make sure this doesn’t flow on to the test matches as well, especially with the caliber of opposition players on hand here.

“The tournament is a key element of the IRB’s four-year £48million global strategic investment programe aimed at driving global playing standards and has provided the opportunity for over 200 players in the Islands to gain exposure to a high-intensity representative tournament that bridges the gap between club rugby and the ANZ IRB Pacific Nations Cup.”

The IRB has injected $1million and the majority of this was spent here in Fiji, it has allowed these teams to experience an environment like a RWC and the intensity that will lift their game.

After witnessing 2 thrilling games on Saturday that went down to the wire, it is easy to see that the benefits from games like this will equip the nations for better things in the future. We only need to flash back to Fiji’s epic quarter final showing against South Africa, if Fiji had more intense games like this, then the chances of them getting up will only increase. With the RWC 2011 looming, having grinding intense matches more and more will ensure the teams in the ANZ Pacific Nations Cup will be rearing to go.

Tourism Fiji board chairman Patrick Wong said the ANZ Pacific Nations Cup had really promoted Fiji in a big way. “By televising live ANZ Pacific Cup matches to millions of viewers around the world, Fiji’s tourism industry has also been promoted to those countries.” This he said had come at a time when Tourism Fiji was trying to promote its brand to geographical partners like those in South America, Asia and Europe.

Now the piping hot rugby heads to the Eastern side of Fiji for the finale games as Suva plays host. The coastal city will embrace the stars as they roll into Suva city and the stadium will busy as fans jostle for pole position seats.
 

maches in Suva are:

2/7/09 Tonga vs Junior All Balcks -National Stadium, Suva. 3.10 kick-off

3/7/09 Fiji vs Japan -National Stadium, Suva. 3.10 kick-off