Rauluni to skipper Islanders
Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:48
Saracens scrumhalf Mosese Rauluni will captain the Pacific Islands for their upcoming Tests against England, France and Italy.
Rauluni, who led Fiji to the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup in 2007 hopes to lead the Pacific Islanders to their first-ever Test victory since the team's inception in 2004. Dynamic Tongan loose-forward Nili Latu has been named vice-captain.
The hard-hitting Pacific Islands team tours every two years and head coach Quddus Fielea is confident that they have the right gameplan to make history by recording their first Test win.
"It is a huge task but we can make our dreams come true if we stick to our game plan," he told the Press Assosiation.
"The rugby we play will be simple - we will run, tackle, play direct and go hard at them.
The team only had a week to prepare for their first game but team manager Sitiveni Rabuka vowed they will make up for it in commitment.
"We represent many people but it doesn't matter where we come from. We stand together as Pacific Islanders.
"Pacific Island nations provided the energy and the spark of the Rugby World Cup in France and we now have the opportunity to build on this tradition," said Rabuka.
