Talei Matairakula 
Fiji Pearls veteran Maria Lutua Rusivakula.
Being a working mum and an athlete is no easy task but 34-year-old Fiji Pearls veteran Maria Lutua Rusivakula knows just how to master this.
Fulfilling the three responsibilities demands so much of her time but she has managed to find the balance thanks to the support system around her.
Rusivakula who helped the Pearls qualify to the World Cup during the World Cup Oceania Qualifier in July last year says she wasn’t in the best of shape then and she had to work twice as hard to be fit enough to make the squad.
“After the qualifiers last year, i went back and reflected on my performance and how i looked back then and i knew i had to do extra work to be able to get to where the girls are.”
Now the Nakama, Macuata in Vanua Levu lass is getting ready for her third World Cup outing.
She says her journey has only been made possible through the support of her husband, her five-year-old son and her work family at Ipswich College in the UK.
Commonly known as MJ among her family and friends, Rusivakula is excited for the challenge that awaits, confident that her teammates have done so much behind the scenes to compete in one of netball’s biggest stages.
She is one of the very few in the Fiji Pearls that have had World Cup experience.
The World Cup will commence from July 28th in South Africa.
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