The governance and the future of Fiji Rugby should be our focus from now on.

These were the words of FRU interim Trustee Alipate Naorosui, after the findings of the auditor in reviewing the player’s allowances to the Rugby World Cup 2023 revealed that all entitlements under the contracts were paid out in full.

Naorosui said the future looks bright for Fiji Rugby after it was readmitted to the World Rugby Council, a ninth WR ranking and is likely to become a Tier One nation in 2026.

“We were appointed (as interim Trustees) last year by the Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and in a few weeks’ time we’ll hand over to the new (FRU) board,” he said referring to the appointment being done in the November 9 Annual General Meeting.

“We’ve appointed the new chief executive officer Rovereto Nayacalevu and we’ve accomplished our mission.”

Naiorosuli said their mission was to plan out the framework for Fiji Rugby so it could grow in the future.

“The improvements have been done and the air has been cleared so now we should focus on the next three years so Fiji can go higher,” he said.

Naiorosuli has assured the public that all is well at Rugby House.

“We should now focus on the November tour with the four test matches coming up with all these talks on mainstream and social media is a disruption. It’s not easy for the management, current and former board to run the Fiji rugby house.”

No evidence 

FRU interim Trustees chairman Peter Mazey said that all the players who accused Fiji Rugby of corruption did not present any evidence to their claim.

Former Flying Fijians captain Waisea Nayacalevu made allegations to the Daily Mail of their unpaid bonus from the RWC and corruption at Rugby House. He was backed by senior players of Levani Botia, Semi Radradra, Albert Tuisue, Jiuta Wainiqolo, Meli Derenalagi, Sam Matavesi and Mesake Doge.

“We have challenged all players who accused FRU of corruption to come forward with any evidence they claim to have against as. We were committed to passing any evidence to the Police or FICAC for investigation,” Mazey said. “This suggests that the claim may be unfounded.”

Mazey said the team threatened to boycott the RWC quarterfinal unless a bonus was paid prior to the match against England.

“It is important to note that the Fiji government had already paid part of the bonus of $5000 (each) on September 8 and an additional $5000 on October 13, 2023,” he said.

Review findings 

The independent review was carried out by Naiveli and Co Charted Accountants for all the 2023 RWC bonuses, player sign-on fees and daily allowances.

The investigation found 

• All entitlements under player contracts were paid in full and in accordance with the fixed-term contracts signed by all members of the extended squad and the RWC 2023 Flying Fijians team to France.
• All pay runs were made either on time and in alignment with the contracted payout dates, except for pay runs one and two which were disbursed a day later than the contracted payout date and five pay runs were made between one to five dates than the earlier than the contracted due dates.
• Pay runs three to seven were processed before the contracted due dates with exception to five players with overseas bank accounts; the provision if the erroneous or incomplete bank details and the procedures to attain regulatory approvals contributed to the delay.
• All FJ$500 per day allowances were proposed correctly by the Finance team at FRU, based on the attendance sheets provided by the team manager.
• All sign on fees were paid as per the contracts, with the exception of Player 28, who joined the squad late and was paid accordingly.
• All Government bonuses were paid as per the arrangements.
• All reimbursements were made in accordance with the entitlements outlined in the contracts or arrangements.Meanwhile, FRU interim Trustees Jenny Seeto said all social media claims that the Fijiana XVs side were facing financial problem in Dubai is not true.

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