The Colonial Cup (named after sponsors The Colonial National Bank) is a defunct

rugby union football Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

competition that was played in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

between 2004 and 2008. The Colonial Cup was Fiji's first attempt at a professional rugby competition, but it did not draw sufficient crowds and ceased after five seasons.

History

In 2004, with the gap between provincial rugby in Fiji and test rugby at an unacceptable level, the

Fiji Rugby Union Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Fiji. It is divided into over 30 provincial unions. The Fiji Rugby Union is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA), along with Samoa and Tonga. There are a ...

introduced a brand new, streamlined competition to identify and prepare local players for the international stage. The 30-odd provincial unions were grouped into four franchises along geographical lines. Players not selected for one team could be picked up by one of the others. Players were paid £40 a week plus lodgings. The new competition started on 3 April 2004 and finished 22 May 2004 in time for the international test window. The four teams played a round-robin followed by semi-finals and a grand final. The Coastal Stallions held off a late rally from the Suva Highlanders to claim the inaugural Colonial Cup 26-21 In 2005 an extra team was added, Northern Sharks, made of players from

Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically ...

Taveuni Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated to the east of ...

and Ovalau. Previously the Northern Division had belonged to the Suva franchise. Suva Highlanders won the Grand final with a 35-27 win over Western Crusaders. In 2006, with the introduction of a

Super 14 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

style tournament called the

Pacific Rugby Cup The World Rugby Pacific Challenge, formerly the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, is an annual rugby union football tournament held in Oceania since 2006. It is contested by national 'A' teams (formed from the best locally based players, with most not alre ...

, the void in the Pacific Island competition pathway between club or provincial rugby in the respective islands and Test rugby was on its way to being filled. Coastal Stallions defeated Suva Highlanders 29-15 in a tough encounter to clinch the 2006 title. Bligh Roosters joined the 2007 competition, Western Crusaders gave up Tavua,

Vatukoula Vatukoula (; meaning "gold rock" in Fijian) is a gold mining settlement in Fiji, 9 km inland from the Town of Tavua on the island of Viti Levu. Colonial history Vatukoula may be viewed historically as the cradle of the modern gold mining i ...

, Ba and Ra to the new franchise. It was announced in 2008 that the competition would cease due to not achieving its player performance aims and low crowds.

Structure

Fiji’s best 150 players are divided up into 6 professionally run franchises. These franchises play each other over 10 weeks culminating in a semi-final and final. The league uses 4 points for a win; 2 for a draw; 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match; 1 bonus point for losing by 7 points or less. The top four teams then proceed to the semi-finals.

Franchises

Bligh Roosters The Bligh Roosters is a Fijian former rugby union team that had a franchise area covering Tavua, Vatukoula, Ba and Ra.

Tavua,

, Ba, Ra *

Coastal Stallions The Coastal Stallions is a former Fijian rugby union team. The Coastal Stallions is a Fijian former rugby union team that had a franchise area coverering Nadroga-Navosa, Namosi, Serua and Malolo. The team played in Fiji's premier rugby union co ...

Nadroga-Navosa, Namosi, Serua and

Malolo Malolo is an inhabited volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean, near Fiji. Malolo was used as a tribe name in Survivor: Ghost Island. Malolo Island is the largest of the Mamanuca Islands and is home to two villages. History Malolo was one of the ...

Northern Sharks The Northern Sharks is a former Fijian rugby union team that had a franchise area covering Vanua Levu, Taveuni Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-sha ...

, Ovalau, and Island Zone *

Suva Highlanders The Suva Highlanders is a Fijian former rugby union team that had a franchise area covering Suva, Naitasiri and Kadavu. The team played in Fiji's premier the Colonial Cup from 2004 to 2008 before the competition ceased in 2008. History The franc ...

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

Naitasiri :see also Naitasiri District Naitasiri is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji and one of eight located on Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. Geography and infrastructure Naitasiri covers an area of , and occupies the area mostly to the north of Suva, ...

, Kadavu *

Tailevu Knights The Tailevu Knights is a Fijian former rugby union team that had a franchise area coverering Tailevu, Northland, and Rewa Rewa may refer to: Places Fiji * Rewa (Fijian Communal Constituency, Fiji), a former electoral division of Fiji * Rewa P ...

Tailevu Tailevu is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji. Overview One of the eight provinces based in Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island, Tailevu's 755 square kilometers occupy the south-eastern fringe of the island along with some central areas. At the 2017 ...

, Northland, and

Rewa Rewa may refer to: Places Fiji * Rewa (Fijian Communal Constituency, Fiji), a former electoral division of Fiji * Rewa Plateau, between the Kaimur and Vindhya Ranges in Madhya Pradesh * Rewa Province, Fiji * Rewa River, the widest river in Fiji ...

Western Crusaders The Western Crusaders is a Fijian former rugby union team that had a franchise area coverering Lautoka, Nadi, and Yasawa. The team played in the Colonial Cup from 2004 to 2008 before the competition ceased in 2008. History The franchise was one ...

Lautoka Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...

Nadi Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...

, and

Yasawa Yasawa, also called Assawa and Ysava, is the northernmost large island of the Yasawa Group, an archipelago in Fiji's Western Division. Located at 17.00° South and 177.23° East, it covers an area of . It has a maximum altitude of above sea l ...

Past winners

*2004

*2005

*2006

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

*2008

External links

Colonial Cup pages from Teivovo

Colonial Cup pages from Fiji Rugby Union

References