17 Apr 2007

Australia's Under 19 rugby union coach believes Pacific rugby looking healthy

7:47 am on 17 April 2007

The Australian Under 19 coach Phil Mooney believes the experience taken on board by the Pacific players at the world championships in Northern Ireland will be good for the game in their respective countries.

Australia are preparing to play South Africa inthe Division A semifinal tomorrow morning, while New Zealand will face Wales.

And while Samoa and Fiji don't feature in the top four playoffs in Division A Mooney believes the experience they get from the championships will have a positive impact on the game back in the islands.

"They're fantastically naturally gifted athletes, we're really happy they've done well, we shared the same hotel with Fiji last year in Dubai, we fired them with interest, and they've done well, and Samoa, their national sevens team is doing really well, their national 15's has done well at World Cups and they've done really well here and it's fantastic for Pacific Island rugby."