Marked for Shivneet Sami
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 May 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Tailevu Naitasiri, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings22 May 2028
Marked 7.63 at 14, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
The dugout22 May 2028
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Player ratings22 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad22 May 2028
Ratu Sorovi in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tailevu Naitasiri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Tailevu Naitasiri training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sikeli Tuiloma is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The terraces22 May 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 14-year-old it feels ownership of. Sakaraia Mocenica has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match20 May 2028
Nasinu made Tailevu Naitasiri work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The dugout22 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Sikeli Tuiloma
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Apr 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Tailevu Naitasiri, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
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Squad24 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tailevu Naitasiri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match22 Apr 2028
Navua left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Tuimasi Nawalu left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
Mosese Nabose knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tailevu Naitasiri, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Mar 2028
Ravikash Krishna damages knee ligaments — 17 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 17 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad27 Mar 2028
There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market27 Mar 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
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Squad27 Mar 2028
Ratu Sorovi in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tailevu Naitasiri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match25 Mar 2028
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 88. Nadi had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Sikeli Tuiloma falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Feb 2028
Ravikash Krishna damages knee ligaments — 45 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 45 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market28 Feb 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 22 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
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Squad28 Feb 2028
Ratu Sorovi in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tailevu Naitasiri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Ratu Sorovi
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces21 Feb 2028
The mood at Tailevu Naitasiri has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad21 Feb 2028
52 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Tailevu Naitasiri lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom21 Feb 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Tailevu Naitasiri
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market21 Feb 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tailevu Naitasiri they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Ratu Sorovi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Shivneet Sami falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Altamish Khan
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market21 Feb 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Iosefo Verevou signs something — a contract at Tailevu Naitasiri or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market31 Jan 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tailevu Naitasiri can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Jan 2028
51 days out for Mohammed Rasasa after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Tailevu Naitasiri will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market31 Jan 2028
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Tailevu Naitasiri people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
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Squad31 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tailevu Naitasiri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces24 Jan 2028
The mood at Tailevu Naitasiri has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom24 Jan 2028
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Tailevu Naitasiri is running low.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 58 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market24 Jan 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tailevu Naitasiri can pretend not to have heard.
Market24 Jan 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tailevu Naitasiri they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Evander Nasova and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ratu Sorovi, and the manager let it.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Tailevu Naitasiri training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sikeli Tuiloma is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Tuimasi Nawalu has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad3 Jan 2028
80 days out for Mohammed Rasasa after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Tailevu Naitasiri will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market3 Jan 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tailevu Naitasiri can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
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Squad3 Jan 2028
Ratu Sorovi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Sikeli Tuiloma falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market3 Jan 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Tailevu Naitasiri know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market3 Jan 2028
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Taniela Rakariva has his answer from Tailevu Naitasiri; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Dec 2027
Position 10, 4 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad20 Dec 2027
A fracture rules Mohammed Rasasa out for 94 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Tailevu Naitasiri will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market20 Dec 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
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Market20 Dec 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aporosa Tuinakauvadra will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tailevu Naitasiri the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Ratu Sorovi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Samuela Kalounaiwai, and the manager let it.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and France Catarogo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
Shivneet Sami has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Tailevu Naitasiri will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout13 Dec 2027
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Market13 Dec 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Aporosa Tuinakauvadra has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Squad13 Dec 2027
France Catarogo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad13 Dec 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tailevu Naitasiri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
When it matters, Ratu Sorovi plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad13 Dec 2027
The training reports on Shivneet Sami are not good
A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market6 Dec 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market6 Dec 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tailevu Naitasiri they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Tailevu Naitasiri training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samuela Kalounaiwai is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
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Squad6 Dec 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Evander Nasova and Tailevu Naitasiri agree another 3 years.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Sikeli Tuiloma was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market6 Dec 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Tailevu Naitasiri know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Nov 2027
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market22 Nov 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad22 Nov 2027
The medical room confirms 25 days on the sidelines for Laisenia Kalounaiwai, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
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Market22 Nov 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aporosa Tuinakauvadra will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tailevu Naitasiri the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Ratu Sorovi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Nov 2027
France Catarogo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout15 Nov 2027
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Market15 Nov 2027
Only the photograph left for Shivneet Sami
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Shivneet Sami will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tailevu Naitasiri the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Ratu Sorovi in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tailevu Naitasiri this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and France Catarogo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Ratu Sorovi gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ratu Sorovi is on it.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Samuela Waqa gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.