Timoci Tavatavanawai and Emoni Narawa. Photo: Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz
Rugby
A number of All Blacks with Pasifika heritage will be in action for their provincial teams when the National Provincial Championship (NPC) kicks off this week.
Queen Victoria School alumni from Fiji, Emoni Narawa and Timoci Tavatavanawai, will be on opposite ends when Bay of Plenty meets Tasman in Tauranga on Sunday.
Narawa joins fellow All Black and Samoan heritage player Pasilio Tosi in the Bay of Plenty squad, while Tavatavanawai is contracted to Tasman.
A number of Manu Samoa and 'Ikale Tahi reps are also expected to be in action during the NPC.
Futsal
Samoan-Tongan Phillip Fatialofa is set to play for New Zealand's Futsal Whites at the Continental Futsal Championship in Thailand.
Oceania Football says the player is set to make his debut for Aotearoa, with the team scheduled to meet Chinese Taipei on Thursday in their first game.
Fatialofa says his selection is a dream come true.
With a Samoan dad and a part-Tongan mother, the 21-year-old grew up playing football in Wellington and represented Samoa at the OFC Under-19 Men's Championship in 2023.
The Futsal Whites meet Thailand on Friday in their second pool game.
Rugby
The 'Ikale Tahi rugby squad started their preparation for the upcoming Pacific Nations Cup in Auckland at the weekend.
Head coach Tevita Tuifua said the camp brought players together for the first time this year.
Missing were some players who are currently committed to the NPC in New Zealand.
Former All Black Salesi Piutau and France-based Ben Tameifuna are two of the senior players in the squad who were present at the camp.
RSE sports festival
Around 400 RSE workers in the Bay of Plenty area will compete at the second annual RSE Sports Festival in Mount Manganui on 23 August.
Led by the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union, with support from BOP Volleyball and BOP Football, the day is a collaboration between the kiwifruit industry and the local sporting groups to provide a day off the tools for hard working RSE workers.
Bay of Plenty Rugby manager Ati Aaifou-Olive said the RSE Sports Festival is a new way in which the sport can give RSE workers a positive experience while in New Zealand.
In 2024, 11 packhouses entered 39 teams, featuring 350 RSE workers from Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Tonga at the event.
