- Fiji team prepares for Pacific championship
- Hayne now works with the national team as a mentor
Jarryd Hayne’s Fiji men’s rugby league team held a rare training session against the Tongan women’s team as they prepare for the Pacific Championship.
Fiji Bati appeared in a video clip on social media showing them training at Albert Park in Suva, where they held an opposition session with the much smaller Tongan women.
The opposing sessions are game simulations that do not include full innings, and the unorthodox idea of the matchup was proposed by the Tongan coaching staff, with both sides later saying it was worthwhile.
“Obviously it’s a bit strange, but it was really good,” Bulldogs and Fiji star Viliame Kikau said. News Corporation.
“The Tongan coach told us to be tough, tackle and get some time on the field.
‘They (the Tongan women) spoke very well and were loud throughout the session. “They helped us a little bit and I hope we helped them in their preparation for this weekend.”
Tonga co-captain Natasha Penitani was very impressed by the experience.
“It was really surprising that the men allowed us to have a head-to-head session against them,” she said.
Jarryd Hayne’s Fiji rugby league team held a bizarre training session in which they simulated a match against the Tongan women’s team.
The Fijian men (pictured) said the extremely unusual pitted session was worth it and praised the Tongan stars for helping them prepare for the Pacific Championships.
‘We were kind of thrown in at the deep end (in the end) and it was a big adjustment.
‘It doesn’t help when they’re twice our size… there’s no mercy or surrender here. You could tell they started off a little cautious, and then Kelvin (Wright, Tonga coach) told them to attack, and they really did.”
Hayne, 36, has been invited to the camp to act as a mentor to the side just four months after being released from jail when his rape conviction was overturned.
The former Parramatta Eels star played 120 games for Fiji from 2008 to 2018 and also played five games for the national rugby sevens team, and described his new position as “awesome” on Monday.
“Yesterday, on the way to the airport, watching that documentary of the 2008 (Rugby League World Cup) team, following us around the village, it’s been a long journey… 16 to 17 years,” he said.
‘From the army barracks until now we are in five-star hotels. We have come a long way. It’s always good to remember the past.’
Fiji coach Wise Kativerata contacted Hayne after he was released from prison and the appointment developed from there.
“I called him just to talk to him and see how he was doing,” Kativerata told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I wanted to make sure he was okay. He was happy to hear from us.
Fiji will face Papua New Guinea for the first time at 7.10pm on Saturday night in the tournament.
‘After a while I told him about rugby league in Fiji and how it really needed a boost.
“Then I asked him to come and help with the team because I knew it would be good for him and for us.
“At first he thought I was joking.”
The NRL approved Hayne’s work with the team.
Fiji’s first match will be against Papua New Guinea at 7.10pm on Saturday night.
