Women’s rugby is no longer just a game for many young women in Fiji, it is becoming a lifeline, a source of empowerment and a pathway to financial opportunity.

That is the powerful message from Nasinu Women’s Rugby manager Esther Karanavatu, who believes the rapid rise of the women’s game is changing lives across the country.

“Women’s rugby is an empowerment and an income generation tool for most of our young women.”

Karanavatu, who also serves as general secretary of the Nasinu Rugby Football Union, says more girls and women are now embracing rugby because they can see the opportunities the sport can create.

She pointed to the success of the Fiji women’s national rugby union team as proof that women’s rugby in Fiji is heading in the right direction.

“So women too can play. In fact, the Fijiana team is doing very well right now in the 15s code and if we keep supporting them, that’s all they need. We give them the support and the resources to run tournaments and club competitions and they’ll thrive.”

Karanavatu has been one of the key figures helping drive the Central Women’s Club Game that concluded in Suva yesterday, which has quickly grown beyond expectations.

She says the idea was born from discussions within the Fiji Rugby Union on how provincial unions could meet compliance requirements for women’s rugby competitions.

With many unions only having one women’s team, organisers decided to create a tournament that would bring clubs together from across the Central Division.

What started with only four teams in the opening week has now exploded into a 16 team competition by the finals that was held yesterday.

Teams from Nasinu, Suva, Namosi, Naitasiri, Tailevu, Rewa and Ra have all taken part, while Ovalau also joined the tournament during the competition.

Karanavatu says the growth of the competition proves there is strong interest and untapped potential in women’s rugby despite ongoing financial struggles.

“We might have financial issues along the way, but that doesn’t deter us. We just keep pushing because the game is growing globally for women and Fiji needs to catch up in terms of grassroots development.”

The competition includes both Under 16 and senior women’s grades, with school teams making up most of the younger division.

She also acknowledged the support from Team Up and DFAT through Australia’s funding assistance, which helped organisers run the tournament and provide prizes and trophies.

“We’re really grateful to Australia for funding this initiative and we’re hoping next year it becomes even bigger.”

Plans are already being discussed to expand the competition into the Western, Northern and Maritime divisions as organisers continue pushing to grow the women’s game nationwide.

For Karanavatu, the hard work happening behind the scenes is about much more than rugby.

It is about creating opportunities, changing lives and giving young women across Fiji a platform to dream bigger.