The Ram Sami Nasinu Women have ended Namosi’s reign as Pio Bosco champions after a hard-fought 25–20 victory yesterday, booking their place in the next stage of the competition.

Head coach Tomasi Katonivualiku praised his players for executing their game plan despite having just one day to prepare for the encounter, crediting their commitment and teamwork for the upset win.

Katonivualiku says the victory is a major achievement for a team that has only been competing at this level for three years, and reflects the growth of women’s rugby in Nasinu.

“We did face a major blowback in our preparation for this week because we were supposed to face Nasinu next week. So, we had only one day to prepare everything. We had to give them one-week last week.”

“But there is no excuse. We came with a plan. I thank the girls for executing this plan well.”

He says the team will now return to the drawing board to address areas that need improvement before their next challenge against Suva next weekend.

Katonivualiku expects another tough contest but believes Nasinu can give the experienced Suva side a strong challenge as they continue their campaign.

“We’ll go back again to the drawing board and then we’ll work on our weaknesses.” We know that Suva has been around there for a long time and this is only our third year. But we are here to play rugby and we know that we will give them a good run for their money next weekend.”