Kaiviti Silktails and NSWRL

The Kaiviti Silktails were founded by Fijian-born NRL legend and Sports Diplomacy Advisory Council member, Petero Civoniceva. Petero’s inspiration to establish the Silktails came from his experience as captain of the Fijian national team at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, and the challenges the team overcame to reach the semi-finals.  

The Silktails develop players, coaches and support staff with a focus on elite-level training and international competition. Alongside the Fiji National Rugby League, they actively support the growth of the game for men, women, boys and girls throughout Fiji.

The NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) has been the guardian of rugby league in the state of New South Wales for more than a century, and was key to the early growth of rugby league in Australia. It continues to manage the State of Origin campaigns of the NSW Blues teams, and to oversee the growth of the game in both the city and country districts.

Our partnership with PacificAus Sports

In 2020, the NSWRL welcomed the Silktails into the Ron Massey Cup, a development-level men’s rugby league competition. The team comprehensively won their first-round match against the Windsor Wolves (40-16) at their homeground in Lautoka, Fiji, before the competition was suspended in response to Covid-19 travel restrictions.

The ten scheduled home games were expected to inject more than AU$500,000 into the local economy, as well as boosting rugby league infrastructure in Fiji. 

Following the suspension of the competition, PacificAus Sports funds that would have supported the team’s international travel were redirected to the new Fijian Rugby League Centre of Excellence and the National Elite Development Pathway Program. 

Despite the delay to the Silktails’ full inclusion in the Ron Massey Cup, both NSWRL and Fiji remain committed to the goal of elevating the Silktails to the Canterbury Cup, NSW’s premier men’s rugby league competition, in 2022.

"The Fiji Silktails add such an exciting new dimension to our competitions. To be able to enhance our competitions in this way while, at the same time, providing a pathway for rugby league players in Fiji is a wonderful example of sport working as a vehicle for the mutual benefit of our country and our Pacific neighbours. Moreover, the outcome of the Fiji Silktails playing in our competitions will be an opportunity for capacity-building which would not otherwise be available to Fijian players and teams while playing in local Fijian competitions."

David Trodden, CEO NSW Rugby League