Prop Leeroy Atalifo has vowed to make Fiji and the National Fire Authority (NFA) proud at the Rugby World Cup next month in England.

The 27-year-old was farewell by colleagues and staff of the NFA in Walu Bay, Suva yesterday.

“I’m ready to play for my country and it’s a proud moment for me to get this farewell from my NFA colleagues,” Atalifo said. “I’m deeply touched by this farewell ahead of the RWC.

“Being a firefighter helped me a lot to discipline myself and also assisted greatly in the improvement of my fitness level which has resulted in my selection to represent the country at the RWC,” Atalifo said. “This is going to be a huge milestone for me and I will cherish it for a long time.

"This is a very key position and I'm ready for it.“I’m looking forward to play at the RWC and to make the country and the people of Fiji proud,” Atalifo said. The chief executive officer of NFA John O’Connor stated that NFA was really proud of the achievements of Leeroy Atalifo.

"We have had previous Flying Fijian in the likes of Leone Tabuarua and Waisea Matewai but Leeroy Atalifo is the first to make it to the World Cup.

"More importantly he is only one of the two local players that have been selected into the team and in the position of a prop," O'Connor sad.

"This is a great achievement for Leeroy and we are so proud of him.

"Such accomplishment by our firefighters is also an accomplishment for NFA," O'Connor said.

"We use rugby as our platform to achieve ultimate fitness and we are proud that apart from achieving fitness to fight fires, some of our firefighters are excelling in Rugby.

The CEO wished Leeroy and the Flying Fijians all the best in the RWC. He assured Leeroy and the Flying Fijians that all the staff, firefighters and their families will be praying and supporting the team.