A Fijian women's rugby team is on the cusp of history, set to become the first all-Pacific squad to take home the Super W title as they face off against the New South Wales Waratahs in the grand final.
Fijiana Drua made their rugby debut this season and are now on top of the ladder and favourites to win this afternoon's match at AAMI Park in Melbourne.
Captain Bitila Tawake said she was not surprised her team had reached the grand final.
"Being the first Fijiana Super W team to make the competition, it means a lot to the girls," Tawake said.
"The girls sacrificed so much back home to come here and represent the people and our families.
"Most of the girls had to leave their work and most of us are passionate about rugby, so we're here."
She said the support from the Fijian and Australian communities was immense.
"The support here in Australia is really big, we never thought it would be this big," she said.
Waratahs captain Grace Hamilton said her team had been taken aback by Fijiana's running style of play when they were beaten 29-10 on the Gold Coast earlier this season.
"We haven't played that style of rugby in many years, due to not being able to play a lot of Test matches," Hamilton said.
"For us, they are a quality team, they play a different style: They're fast and they're physical and we love being tested."
Hamilton said it would likely be one of the toughest finals the Tahs would play, but they were prepared.
"They're really unstructured so it's really hard to have a specific game plan that's going to nullify that," she said.
"So for us, it's about sticking to our structure, sticking to our basics and I think we got caught into playing like them last time.
"For us, it's about sticking to our game plan and how we want to play, and controlling that territory."
Underdog Fijiana the 'most under-resourced team'
Sportswriter and social media forum moderator Tia Roko told the ABC's Pacific Beat program that Fijiana were the "most under-resourced team" in the Super W competition.
"But these girls have come into the competition, with less than five support staff, and they've made it to the grand final undefeated," Roko said.
"This is the stuff that movies are made about, except the underdog is meant to be losing the first few games.
"There is certainly a women's rugby revolution taking place in the Pacific and the message is that they are here to stay."
Women's rugby trailblazer and self-professed "Blue Wigger" Fijiana fan Naomi Roberts said for too long women athletes were given funding "crumbs" over men, but now more avenues of support were opening.
"Playing at an elite level, we have to have the best of things to give them the edge," she said.
Roberts said Fijiana had brought a new dimension to the game.
"As a spectator, it has really changed and improved the experience of watching rugby … especially women's rugby," she said.
"It's just so exciting to see them playing."
Roberts started playing in the Northern Territory in 1993 and was one of the first women to be invited from Australia to play in Fiji in 2000.
"It was the first time the [Women's Rugby] Sevens were showcased to the men and the rugby community, and to hear them say things like 'you belong in the kitchen', making fun of the women, it just makes the girls want to prove themselves and they really proved themselves.
"And everyone is taking note of it."
Roberts said attitudes in Fiji were changing.
Fiji Drua [men's] coach Mick Byrne said it was inspiring for his team to see their female counterparts reach the grand final.
"They've just shown what's possible: putting a team together late, coming over, staying away from home, living out of a couple of different places and just turning up on the day and playing," Byrne said.
