Niue look to win forwards battle

Sports

By ROBINSON LEKA
NIUE and Nauru arrived in Port Moresby yesterday ahead of the Oceania Cup which starts on Friday.
A new-look Niue side have staked their claim for the Cup this year in the hopes of reviving the rugby union culture in their country, says head coach Metric Ikitoelagi.
“The main reason we are here is to revive Niue rugby,” he said.
“We want to come here and compete.
“I think the ultimate goal is to measure ourselves against the Solomon Islands, Nauru and Papua New Guinea.”
Ikitoelagi said his side were prepared for the challenge in the forwards as he was aware of PNG’s fast-paced rugby.
“We’ve had a really good preparation, we’ve played PNG and Solomon Islands in the past,” he said.
“They’re physical and fast.
“We’ve probably got the biggest forward pack in the whole competition, as well with Nauru so we’ll probably try to play a tight game and we’ll see how it goes from there.”
Ikitoelagi said the selection criteria for his squad had changed to give a more competitive edge to the side in the tournament.
“We’ve done a fair bit different this year,” he said.
“We got one local player from Niue and the rest are from all around Australia and New Zealand.
“They’re all currently playing at the premier level in their respective clubs and so we’re trying to base it on that.
“So it’s easier, knowing that the players are already exposed to that high level of competition.”