Vodafone Kaji Rugby

The Vodafone Kaji Rugby Competition is a national primary school rugby competition in Fiji, organised by the Fiji Primary Schools Rugby Union (FPSRU) with the support of Vodafone Fiji and the Fiji Rugby Union. It is currently one of the biggest rugby programs in the nation, primarily targeting grassroots development and promoting young talent.

Since its inauguration in 2002 the Fiji Primary School Rugby Union has grew in intensity and popularity moving past its 10 years of existence and steadily progressing into the future. Kaji rugby has the largest representative of players under the Fiji Rugby Union with 22,000 children participating in the Vodafone Kaji competition in 2019.

The annual Kaji Rugby Festival is the climax of Fiji Primary Schools Rugby Union calendar whereby  representative teams from the provincial regions converge to play in a week long round robin tournament.

The Fiji Primary Schools Rugby Union has also proactively moved the games to different venues over the years so that patrons can feel the festive atmosphere that is experienced during each annual tournament.

Vodafone Kaji Rugby has achieved its mission in developing and exposing the raw talents of our children where some of them are now playing professional rugby around the world today.

In 2018 Vodafone Fiji took the reigns as naming rights partner for Kaji Rugby and as the exclusive mobile telecommunications partner for Fiji Rugby, their consistent support of every Fijian throughout the grassroots of the game, has been invaluable.

2019 the Vodafone Kaji competition had grown to new heights with children all across Fiji enjoying their Kaji rugby.

In Kaji Rugby the Under 9 and 10 age groups in the divisional playoffs play tag rugby while the Under 11-12 will be play 10s rugby and Under 13-14 step up to full 15s rugby. Teams that qualify from the divisional play offs in Under 12, 13 & 14 will go in to the Vodafone Fiji National Kaji Festival held on the first week of school holidays.

Notable developments in the competition in recent years include:

2019

The competition had 22,000 registered children participating

2024

The FPSRU reported the numbers increased to a total of 32,000 registered players (boys and girls).

2019

Changes were made to prioritise safety:
– Under 9 and 10: Tag rugby (non-contact).
– Under 11-12: 10s rugby.
– Under 13-14: Full 15s rugby (contact).

2024

The competition introduced girls rugby at the national level, with girls competing in  Under 13 7s format and boys in Under 14 15s format, while younger groups (U9-U12) played at district level.

2024

The competition made a significant comeback after a 5 year break, taking place from the 29th to 31st of October at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.

Sponsors

Vodafone