Mau-ala’ivao Jack Kirifi who is a Pacific Island liaison for Taranaki Rugby Union is helping up and coming Pacific rugby players on how to succeed both on and off the pitch as well as gaining the tools for life after the game.
One player he has taken under his wing and helped make the adjustment is 20‑year‑old Kini Naholo, the younger brother of Waisake Naholo.
Naholo moved from Fiji to Hawke’s Bay in 2016 and after taking the schoolboy scene by storm as a member of the Hastings’ Boys High School First 15, made the transition to professional rugby with Taranaki last year.
Naholo says probably one of the biggest challenges is speaking English because back home he just spoke Fijian but when he went to New Zealand he really struggled with English and could not understand some of the words.
Naholo says his English has improved immensely thanks to the fact he was the “only Fijian” in his school team so he had to learn the language.
Kirifi’s son Du’Plessis, is now playing for the Hurricanes but there’s plenty more young talent he wants to see thrive in the region.
[Source: TVNZ]
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