Nadi and Nadroga will meet in the provisional rugby Skipper Cup final for the first time in 17 years after both sides secured hard-fought victories in their semi-finals last weekend.

Meanwhile, the Marama Cup final will see defending champions Namosi take on Nasinu as they look to retain their title.

Nadi captain Ratu Meli Derenalagi praised his players for their determination after their 26–19 win over Naitasiri, saying the team remained disciplined defensively despite the pressure.

“We thank God for giving us the endurance and the power and the strength to defend our turf as our home ground. I want to salute the boys for fighting till the last whistle. We knew that Naitasiri would come out firing. As a side, we knew the weather was on us. So, we knew that second half they’ll come out hot.

“So, my message to the boys was try to lock us defensively. Targeting them not to come through us. But we managed to show some links that made it two tries.”

They will now turn their attention to the final against Nadroga who beat Tailevu in hard-fought second semi-final in Suva 37-32.

Derenalagi understands this challenge will be even tougher.

“For me, we don’t know what’s coming next week. We’ll just go out, celebrate the win today.
Review on Sunday. And we will work on what our weakness is. And work on our strengths before we play against Nadroga because that will be another tough battle.”

In the women’s competition, Namosi head coach Maraia Kasanita credited her players for their resilience after recovering from a 30-point deficit in the first half to beat Nadi 41–39, with the side now focused on defending their Marama Cup crown against Nasinu this weekend.

“We didn’t play well in the last minute. We did a lot of catching up in the second half. But credit to the girls for coming through in the second 40.
After being down by almost 30 points, coming back to win the game. Big credit to the girls.”

Namosi and Nasinu will kick off the Marama Cup final at 1pm, followed by the Skipper Cup final between Nadi and Nadroga at 3pm this Saturday at Churchill Park in Lautoka.