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SUVA, 6 December 2025 \u2013 The Fiji Rakavi Football Union (FRU) held its General Assembly today, uniting provincial representatives, board members, and rugby stakeholders to reflect on the 2025 season and chart the way forward under a new 10-year strategic vision.<\/p>\n
Chairman John Sanday: \u201cA Moment of Reflection and Responsibility\u201d
Chairman John Sanday opened the session by commending the patience and support of member unions over the past year. He reflected on the board\u2019s first full term, marked by both challenges and growth, and reaffirmed Fiji Rugby\u2019s strengthened global position following its inclusion in the 2027 Rugby World Cup and the new Nations Championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not just a board achievement, it belongs to everyone who has ever worn the white jersey, coached in our villages, or cheered from the sidelines,\u201d Sanday said.<\/p>\n
He urged the unions to embrace rugby as a force for social progress, addressing pressing issues such as gender-based violence, drug abuse, and youth engagement, while upholding the sport\u2019s core values of respect, discipline, solidarity, and teamwork.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur strength must not only be measured on the scoreboard but in the health of our rugby ecosystem,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Acting CEO Koli Sewabu: \u201cWorking Together for Solutions\u201d
Acting CEO Koli Sewabu described the assembly as a \u201csolutions-focused workshop,\u201d designed to encourage open discussion and joint problem-solving among unions.<\/p>\n
Key topics included:
A full review of the 2025 domestic competitions and proposed changes for the 2026 season.
Updates on the Strategic Plan 2026\u20132036, now entering its final drafting stage.
Fiji\u2019s hosting of the Nations Cup in July 2026, and continued collaboration with the Fiji Rugby Players Association.<\/p>\n
Sewabu said the new strategic plan would emphasize sustainability, performance excellence, and unity.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur aim is to build a stronger, smarter, and more connected rugby system across the country.\u201d
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High Performance Update: Building a Global-Ready Rugby System
FRU\u2019s General Manager for High Performance, Naca Cawanibuka, presented a data-driven review of the 2025 season, highlighting the success of the Skipper Cup as Fiji\u2019s key development platform, producing more than 60% of the Flying Fijians squad.<\/p>\n
He outlined the 2026 competition calendar, which includes:
Skipper Select vs Fijian Drua match on 6 February 2026, Churchill Park, Lautoka.
Increased support for women\u2019s competitions, aligned with international fixtures.
Introduction of a Crossroads 7s registration system, linking club participation to provincial affiliation for improved governance and player discipline.<\/p>\n
Cawanibuka emphasized the importance of improving game tempo and discipline, noting that Fiji\u2019s average ball-in-play time (31 minutes) still lags behind international standards (36\u201338 minutes).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must build a healthy ecosystem that prepares every player, coach, and administrator to compete and thrive globally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Union Voices: Challenges, Pathways, and Women\u2019s Rugby
Tailevu Rugby Union President Joe Rodan called for stronger financial systems and standardized player transfer fees to compensate unions for talent development. He also urged greater investment in data education, referee consistency, and marketing partnerships.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to think big and aim high, if others can commercialize their rugby brands successfully, so can we,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Talei Tuitoga from Vatukoula Rugby Union highlighted the unique struggles faced by smaller unions in developing women\u2019s rugby, especially with limited player numbers and funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen\u2019s rugby is growing, but it\u2019s still young compared to the men\u2019s game, which has had a century of development,\u201d Ms Tuitoga said.<\/p>\n
She called for flexibility in team formation rules and suggested combining smaller unions to ensure women\u2019s teams can compete consistently.<\/p>\n
Ms Tuitoga also appealed for greater funding support and partnerships with organizations or companies that could sponsor women\u2019s rugby, even suggesting tax rebate incentives to encourage private sector involvement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf given the right resources and opportunities, our women can be just as competitive as the men,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Jeremy Duxbury of Ba Rugby Union echoed calls for greater national coordination, emphasizing the need for a unified policy framework across rugby bodies, government agencies, and the Fiji Sports Council.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, there\u2019s duplication and limited communication between the main sporting organizations. A national policy aligning everyone would benefit the entire rugby ecosystem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Duxbury also urged the FRU to rebuild lost development pathways that once bridged local and international levels, referencing the former Colonial Cup and Pacific Rim competitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s now a big gap between the Skipper Cup and the Flying Fijians. We need to revive age-grade and provincial pathways like under-18s and under-20s competitions to keep talent progressing,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
He further advocated for better player data tracking from youth to senior levels and stronger partnerships with industries such as forestry and mining to support rugby programs and community development.
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Looking Ahead
The Assembly concluded with a strong message of collaboration and accountability. The FRU will now finalize its Strategic Plan 2026\u20132036, confirm the 2026 competition calendar, and roll out new systems to support women\u2019s rugby, player development, and financial transparency across all unions.
Chairman Sanday closed the session by reaffirming rugby\u2019s role in nation-building:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are one family, united by rugby and driven by a shared goal: to build a stronger, smarter, and more responsible future for Fiji Rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SUVA, 6 December 2025 \u2013 The Fiji Rakavi Football Union (FRU) held its General Assembly today, uniting provincial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330968,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-330967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}