Hornets to host Fiji in celebration of remarkable heritage

Bula! Rochdale festivities will welcome the Fiji team and remember Rochdale’s Fijian pioneers.

The Fiji rugby league team will enjoy a week-long training camp in Rochdale this month in celebration of the enduring sporting and cultural links between the town and the Pacific island.

The 40-strong Fiji touring party will train at Hopwood Hall college as they acclimate to English conditions ahead of the Covid-delayed 2021 World Cup, which kicks off on October 15.

The team’s arrival will spark a week of special events in Rochdale, including a schools’ festival, art and craft exhibitions, a history project and a civic reception on October 5.

These Bula Rochdale! events are being supported by a £61,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The connection between the area and island dates back to the early 1960s, when Rochdale Hornets placed a recruitment advert in a local Fijian newspaper. The first two Pacific Islanders made their debuts in October 1961, and several more followed.

The connection remains to this day. Fijian Mike Ratu joined the Hornets from the British army, married a local girl and settled in the area. His sons and grandson also played professional rugby league.

Fijians still also regularly play for local sides, including Rochdale Mayfield, Rochdale Cobras and Hopwood Hall.

Steve Kerr, CEO of Rochdale Hornets, said: “We’re honoured to be welcoming the Fijian World Cup squad to the town, and cementing the close relationship that Rochdale and Fiji have enjoyed since those first pioneers moved to the town half a century ago.”

The celebrations were originally scheduled to tie in with the Hornets’ 150th anniversary last year, but the Covid-19 pandemic saw the World Cup pushed back to 2022.  

Written by Hugh Wilson