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| Nadi and Fiji legends Savenaca Waqa (left) and Henry Dyer @ Navakai Housing, Namotomoto Village, Nadi, 27/8/2015. There was a great atmosphere at Nadi Football Association and Nadi Town in the early-1980s when Bobby Tikaram was VP and the district team won four national league titles in a row (1980-1983). |
14 August 2014, Nadi
By Kieran James and Henry
Dyer
Dr Kieran
James (University of Fiji): How did you first meet Henry Dyer?
Bobby
Tikaram: During the 1970s and 1980s I was in my prime as far as sporting career
was concerned. I was watching the Inter Secondary Schools tournament in Nadi. I
was very surprised by the talent available. I was there for Nadi Soccer. I was
technical adviser or manager. I was an official, most probably the manager of
Nadi or technical adviser. I was surprised to see the talent available in this
country. One of them that caught my eye that day was Henry Dyer. In fact at
that time I was not able to do much although he was a native of Nadi as he was living
in Lautoka and playing for a Lautoka secondary school. I did see other talents
and I suggested five names for Nadi Soccer. I had to just see Henry Dyer and I
could not progress further. The other five players I recruited were from Nadi
College. I recruited them to join the Nadi squad. Those five were Peter Dean;
Shiu Naiker; Shamin Zikar Ali (his father was a star Nadi player); John Satish
Nath; and Bobby Ali. They all later went on to play for Nadi and some played
for Fiji or moved abroad. As a matter of fact John Satish Nath is now the
President of one of Fiji’s soccer associations in Auckland, New Zealand.
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| Bobby Tikaram |
KJ:
What was your impression of Henry Dyer when you first saw him play at the
trials?
BT:
It appeared Henry had a natural sporting athletic ability. His movements and
positioning were very much like a gifted sportsman. No doubt he definitely
impressed me.
KJ:
What position was he playing then?
BT:
At that time he was playing as a forward. When I met him he was mostly as a
striker. Later in Nadi the coach started to move him backwards. I saw him as a
striker and very talented. I thought he had the potential to play for Fiji. I
thought if I can get him I can help to make him a national rep.
KJ:
So please tell us how you met Henry again several years later when he was
playing touch rugby on the Nadi Airport Sports Association grounds...
BT:
The biggest surprise in my life came when I was based at Airport and I was a
regular at the tennis club, rugby club, and soccer ground. My house was just
next to the ground. I had a club Airport Soccer Club. I was there and he was
there.
KJ:
Why was Henry there?
BT: He was playing touch rugby at
Airport Ground No. 1 with Airport Workers. I started yarning with him. I asked
him: “Were you the same guy who played at the Secondary Schools tournament?” He
said “yes”. He said that his parents are here [Nadi] and it is likely that he
will stay here now. That was a good surprise for me. It fits into my plan. I
asked whether he would like to play for Airport Club. Another thing which
caught my eye while they were training with the Airport rugby boys was his
ability to play rugby. I thought: “My God, this guy has talent; he is a natural
rugby player too”. He confirmed to me that he played soccer for Ba Provincial
School. This is when my relationship with Henry Dyer began. Our friendship has
remained the same until today.
I introduced
myself as President of Airport Soccer Club and official of Nadi Soccer
Association. At that time Airport SC was a renowned affiliate of Nadi Soccer
Association where we provided players like Stan Morrell; Emasi “Bacardi” Koroi; Marika Ravula; Amani “Pele” Rokoderea; John Satish
Nath; Jack Johnson; Samu Vucago; and not forgetting Akariva Rasumin. Another
obvious thing I saw was that he was training rugby barefooted. I asked him if
he had soccer boots. He said “no” and I said “I will buy you one pair”. That
started his club career.
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| Henry Dyer back at Nadi Sangam School (2015). |
KJ:
What was Henry like as a player in his early days at Airport SC?
BT:
Henry was phenomenal in his games for Airport with the support of the other talented
players in the team. We went on to win the knockout league tournaments in Nadi.
His performances for Airport Soccer Club met the approval also of Nadi’s soccer
coach. His first soccer coaches were Mani Naicker and Joe Lutumailagi. After
only a couple of games for Airport SC he was asked to join the Nadi Soccer
Association squad.
Henry
Dyer: It was after one game Bob.
BT:
After only one game for Airport SC he was asked to join the Nadi Soccer
Association squad. His first game was against Blues Soccer Club at Nadi Sangam
School Grounds which we won 1-0.
HD:
It was 2-0 Bob...
BT:
His first game was against Blues Soccer Club at Nadi Sangam School Grounds
which we won 2-0. Henry scored the first goal and Bacardi scored the second
goal.
KJ:
OK, can we move on to talk about the famous 1982 IDC Final between Ba and Nadi
in Nadi where the penalty shoot-out took place and then play was stopped due to
alleged bad light?
BT:
In 1981 Henry Dyer was selected for the IDC squad but he was not in the team.
One of our strikers Rusiate Waqa (whom I also introduced to Nadi soccer) was
red-carded in 1981. They looked for Henry but he was not there. This opened the
doors for Henry to join the squad in the following year as there was no other
suitable striker. He was working for South Seas then.
HD:
Someone called me at work and said: “they are paging you at the stadium”. My
name was in the non-travelling squad for the 1981 IDC but not in the final 17.
BT:
Rusiate Waqa’s absence opened the door for Henry to be drafted into Nadi
Soccer’s squad. This gave Henry an opportunity to cover for Rusiate Waqa.
KJ:
Did Henry continue to play rugby during his early days at Airport SC?
BT:
While Henry was playing for Airport SC he was playing rugby for Lautoka Colts.
His talent in rugby was also noticed by former Nadi and Fiji half-back Samisoni
Viriviri Senior. Because of his commitment to Nadi Soccer he found it hard to
combine the two and so he continued to play soccer and did not play rugby for
Nadi. I was helping him on the field and off the field at that time up until
today. It’s not like I saw him, used him, and forgot about him. I don’t see him
as a teabag. He came to my work a couple of times asking for help. I helped him
and some of the other players sometimes. All the players that I took under my
wings were very faithful and very supportive of my requests; there are no
doubts about that.
KJ:
So to return to the 1982 IDC Final between Ba and Nadi at Nadi...
BT:
By now Henry Dyer was a regular with the Nadi squad and was selected in the
first XI to play in the 1982 IDC Final in Nadi. The game at full-time was 0-0.
HD:
The game reverted to penalty-kicks. It was 6-6 after ten kicks each. Save Waqa
was about to take the eleventh kick. I knew he was injured. He was injected by
Dr. Fong. I kicked the sixth kick and it was a goal. When it came to Save’s
turn little did we know that Ba was about to protest about the floodlights.
They did not know that Save could not kick. He could not stand in goal to take
any more pain to defend.
BT:
When the game was postponed it was noted that the game be played in Nadi as the
venue for the tournament was Nadi. The whole Nadi soccer community was shocked
to learn it would be played at a neutral ground Lautoka. No other game in the
world had [had the venue] changed for a
replay after light had stopped play. In a meeting with Nadi and Ba officials Ba
confirmed they would not appear in the replay as they agreed it should be
played in Nadi which was the official venue of the IDC. However, this argument
did not hold water and Ba appeared in Lautoka for the replay and the rest is
history because Ba took the trophy.
KJ:
Do you remember how Henry performed in the final in Nadi?
BT:
Henry Dyer played the game of his life and was at his peak. While in defence he
clashed with Joe Tubuna and injured his head. However, he refused to give up
and played on as if nothing had happened. Tubuna had to be taken to Nadi
Hospital for stitches. You have to give full credit to both teams. They wanted
the best and gave their best. After the treatment at Nadi Hospital he [Joe
Tubuna] returned to the ground desperate to play but was advised by Ba
officials that he had already been replaced by another player.
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| In 2015 Henry Dyer replicates his first goal for Airport Soccer Club against Blues Soccer Club at Nadi Sangam School Grounds in 1981. |
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| Steering committee members of the proposed Nadi Sports Council. Seated from left: Bobby Tikaram, special administrator Robin Ali, interim chairman John Grey [etc.] ... |
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