Grass roots rugby elevating the game

By Aruna Lolani 31 March 2017, 12:00AM

The pitch at Saint Joseph College, Alafua was an incredible sight to see.

Yesterday was the Zone A and Zone B Games and it was more than just a game; it was an event that some official members have been longing to see, to witness how these students have been seen as friends. 

The teams that participated were from Saint Joseph’s College, L.D.S. Church College Pesega, Robert Louis Stevenson College, Maluafou College and Chanel College.

So many things have changed about the atmosphere and to the Principal of Saint Joseph College, Brother Bryan Stanaway, who’s also the President for Zone B, it was a dream come true; to see these students getting along so well. 

“School rugby has changed, you can see the attitude of the kids, compared to what happened one year ago has changed, and the presentation is excellent, the fields are marked well, everything’s good.” he said

“The first benefit is that the standard of rugby has improved because of the quality of the new referees.

“The second benefit is the relationship between the schools has changed.

“And the other thing is that the professionalism of the presentation and the organization has made the kids quite keen to come.

 “The whole atmosphere in this place has changed; the whole attitude towards each other has changed

“These kids are now walking around with their friends and cousins from other schools and they didn’t do that last time.

Brother Bryan was happy about how great it was to finally have both fifth graders and third graders to play on their own fields. 

He believes that the new speakers are also helping out in keeping the peace and keeping everyone calm. 

“The quality of the games has improved, the skill level has improved but that’s happened because the kids, now want to learn the game because they want to play the game.”

By Aruna Lolani 31 March 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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