The Fijian Drua and Fiji National University have today announced an exciting new partnership which sees FNU become the new catering supplier for the Club.
As the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua Men and Rooster Chicken Fijian Drua Women prepare for the 2025 seasons of the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific and Buildcorp Super Rugby Women respectively, FNU has been appointed to supply players with catering specific to their high-performance requirements.
The catering, consisting of meals and snacks per the Drua’s specialised requirements, is supplied by the FNU’s College of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Studies, specifically the School of Hospitality and Tourism.
Fijian Drua General Manager Rugby, Baden Stephenson says they are very happy to partner with FNU for their catering requirements for the current pre-season training and throughout the Super Rugby season.
Stephenson says the Drua has specific high-performance catering requirements for quality, grammage, flavour and nutrition and they found that the FNU, with its high-quality staff and excellent facilities at the Namaka campus, is well equipped to deliver on their needs.
He says this is a unique collaboration which supports both partners as FNU will earn significant revenue while its School of Hospitality and Tourism students and staff get to put their culinary education into practice by preparing, delivering and presenting meals for professional athletes.
The Drua GM for Rugby says the Fijian Drua athletes receive excellent nutrition during the day prepared at the FNU Namaka Campus and outstanding catering facilities by leading culinary experts assisted by their talented students.
He says an added benefit for FNU students is that they would learning new skills for high performance catering, with support and insights from the Drua Strength and Conditioning experts like Naca Cawanibuka as well as their dieticians.
FNU Vice-Chancellor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba says this is being done for the first time, and they are thrilled about this opportunity.
Nabobo-Baba says they will provide meals for all the players and management, ensuring that the athletes receive the right meals, in the correct portions, and at the right times.
She says the initiative will encourage students to apply their academic learning in a dynamic, real-world setting, bringing to life the theoretical knowledge and practical techniques they have mastered in their studies.
The FNU catering services have already begun with the start of the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua Men’s pre-season training.
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