Cast your vote to decide the 2026 Cadbury Try of the Year! Voting closes Wednesday 28th October 2026 at 12pm AEDT.<\/a><\/p>\nThe partnership has continued to grow, with PacificAus Sports funding much needed playing and training kits and formal wear for Fiji\u2019s men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams ahead of the World Cup in Tokyo from 31 October to 3 November.<\/p>\n
Australian Deaf Rugby President and Australian men\u2019s head coach David Kearsey said the relationship had been rewarding for both countries and that Fiji\u2019s emerging talent made them a team to watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been great working with Fiji\u2019s players and coaches and learning from each other,\u201d Kearsey said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got some new players coming through who we know can do some damage on the field. We\u2019re looking forward to catching up with our Fijian vuvale and we\u2019re quite happy to be in separate pools to start with in the men\u2019s division.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fiji heads to Japan after winning both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s titles at last year\u2019s inaugural Pacific Rim Deaf Rugby Sevens tournament in Australia.<\/p>\n
Australian High Commissioner to Fiji Peter Roberts joined Fijian players and coaches for the kit handover, recognising their dedication as they prepare to represent Fiji on the world stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you do inspires people right across Fiji, showing them what\u2019s possible,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love competition and we love working\u00a0together and supporting each other. \u00a0I came here today\u00a0to congratulate and wish you well, and I\u2019m very glad that Australia through PacificAus Sports was able to provide your kits.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fiji team manager Lionel Danford said the support had eased some of the demands of preparing two teams for international competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re grateful to PacificAus Sports for backing our men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams,\u201d Danford said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving our full kits provided takes some pressure off our preparations and helps the players feel ready to represent Fiji together. They\u2019ve worked hard for this opportunity, and we want them to enjoy it and give their best.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also thank the Fiji National Sports Commission, Fiji Rugby Union and Raiwaqa Bus Ltd for supporting us, and welcome further support from anyone willing to get behind our teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Fiji women\u2019s captain Koleta Dravuni, the World Cup is also an opportunity to show more deaf women and girls where rugby can take them.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeaf rugby is growing in Fiji, but we want more people to know about it, especially deaf girls and boys who might not realise there is a team they can join and a pathway to represent their country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re proud to wear the Fiji jersey. We want to win, but we also want people watching us to see what can be achieved when you have the opportunity and support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s men will face hosts Japan, England, Hong Kong China and Italy in Pool B, while Fiji will take on New Zealand, South Africa, Wales, Samoa and the Barbarians in Pool A.<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s competition will bring the two nations together on the field, with Australia and Fiji joining England, Wales, New Zealand and the Barbarians in the pool stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A rugby partnership built through coaching exchanges and a shared passion for growing the deaf game is bringing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942067,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,509182,509183,3739,760,85],"class_list":["post-942066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-deaf-rugby","tag-deaf-rugby-world-cup","tag-fiji","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}