The Fiji Rugby Union Games Committee stands firm by its decision, on the National Mini South Pacific Games players who failed to adhere to National Duties Protocol. The players were stood down from National Duties but were allowed to represent their provinces.
The Committee recognises the concerns raised by the Suva Rugby Union and we agree that stiff penalties must be issued to provinces that put their interest first before Fiji’s call for National Duty. The current policy which is under review does not allow that.
It must be noted by the Provincial Rugby Unions and the stakeholders that the Games Committee operates independently so that the interests of all stake holders are looked at in totality and with transparency.
The FRU board is passionate in uplifting the services provided by Rugby House but this will take time.
We ask the unions especially Suva to bear with us during the review period, as we are looking at putting in place policies and processes to address recurring issues faced by FRU.
This year, some Unions have gone to the Judicial Courts for redress and this can be attributed to the lack of transparent policies and processes. Obviously there is a need for checkpoints to ensure that the process are working consistently as planned.
The FRU board, coaches and team management must also ensure that all the players understand and are aware of the repercussions of their actions right from the start.
History has confirmed that disciplinary issues highlighted by SRU always results in dropping of players from the Fiji squad. The only time players have been banned from rugby at all levels is when they are penalized via a red card or have been cited for a red card offence. This is also taken into consideration by the selectors when selecting players.
We also recognise the importance of communication and the different decisions made on players’ issues like these.
At the end of the day, players make some bad decisions and we can only hope that they can become better players through the provincial Union’s support.
FRU