Nasinu Secondary School U18

Nacanieli Saumi has broken dream teams before, and this weekend, he’s plotting to do it again.

The former Fiji Sevens and Barbarians rep, now Nasinu’s technical advisor, has been the quiet mastermind behind this year’s Vodafone Deans U18 finals run.

Last year, Saumi was with Tailevu North College, guiding the minnows to the quarterfinals.

Now, he’s in charge of sharpening Nasinu’s edge as they prepare for their shot at history.

And what a mountain they must climb. Standing in their way is Ratu Kadavulevu School, unbeaten in every Deans final since their U14 days, and rightfully so, the “Dream Team.”

But Saumi has walked this road before. In 2015, he was part of the RKS camp that stunned Marist’s all-conquering Dream Team, ending a 10-year drought for the Delainakaikai brigade.

One of his players that year, Flying Fijians prop Luke Tagi, remembers how Saumi changed the way they trained.

“We started to learning through blackboards, you know, those kind of things. And we were so lucky to have him as our coach. That he developed us so good, that he developed us so good that make us want to, you know, play rugby.”

Two years later, Saumi helped RKS sweep the entire competition, from U14 right up to U19, a clean sweep that still stands as one of the great feats of schools rugby.

Now, though, he’s on the other side, grinding with a team desperate to end decades of heartbreak.

Nasinu have made the Deans final five times since 1988, but the title has always eluded them cruelly; their first defeat came against this very same RKS.

For the “dream team” of RKS, history is on their side.

But for Saumi, history is there to be broken and if anyone knows how to take down giants, it’s the man who has done it before.

The 2025 Weet-Bix Raluve and Vodafone Deans finals will be held at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva and it will air LIVE on FBC Sports.

Overseas viewers can stream it LIVE on Viti Plus for $69FJD.

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