The Raiwaqa Giants (Bulldogs) created the biggest upset in Fiji football this year when Maciu Raida’s pride and joy (the club he created and developed) won the 2014 AFL Fiji premiership. Maciu is now in Australia as part of the Fiji Tribe team at the IC14 and proud to be representing his country at his adopted game.

“It's very cold here in Melbourne.” He begins, and you can feel he is rubbing his hands together for warmth. “But anyway, I [came to] know this game from 2011, before the last International Cup, from a workmate Chris Sagaitu. He introduced it to me and asked me to have a shot. For me as I grew up I hated this game [Australian Rules footy], but once I had tried it I really loved it. It was a very exciting game and most of all it's a mixture of a lot of other sports.”

International Cup 2014 and World Footy News World Rankings - Pre Round 2

Round 2 of IC14 will produce more interesting outcomes on the WFN World Rankings as all but three matches will see rate exchanges take place with as many as 13 nations rising or falling in Rank.

Let’s look at the three matches where the rating gap is greater than +/- 10.00 first. Ireland (55.15 rating points): 2nd v France (36.09): 15th, Papua New Guinea (54.66): 3rd v India (28.45): 21st and New Zealand (53.00): 4th v China (31.36):18th are first time encounters between these nations where fortunately no advantage is gained by the higher ranked nation and likewise no points are lost by the lower ranked nation tho unfortunately blow out scores are very likely.

 

Women’s World Rankings

A World Ranking Scheme as applied to the Eighteen (18) Women’s International Tests/Matches played after completion of Round 1 International Cup 2014 would look like:
1. Australia
2. Canada 46.72 9 matches played*
3. USA 37.12 9 matches played*

Meet the players - Nathan Strom (Canada).

Meet the players - Sam Willatt (Great Britain).

Meet the players - Timothy Lindgren (Sweden).

Meet the players - Brent "Mergo" Mergen (United States).

Meet the players - Brendan McGeever (Great Britain).

Meet the players - Erik Vig (Sweden).

Contributed by Dylan Wolfgramm

Early start. Brekky at 6am.

In the bus and on the road by 7.30 and at our grounds at Parkville a half hour later. It's the third day of cold for the Tribe and they are just now acclimatising.

The women, Vonu Tribe, are up first - against the Ireland Banshees - and it's warm ups. But no one knows where our balls are. Panic momentarily followed by bag searching produces a ball. By 9.15

the two teams are gathering on McAlister Oval where the usual cool south-westerly transverses the ground.