FRU RESTRUCTURE
Proposal underway to separate sevens rugby operations from fifteens.
The Prime Minister’s nominee to the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) board of directors, Simione Valenitabua, wants to contribute positively in moving the sport forward.
In an interview with SUNsports, Valenitabua said he wanted to propose to the board and also in next month’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) the need for a restructure at Rugby House.
“The structure needs to be simplified,” he said.
“We (FRU) are registered as a
charitable trust so we have to find business sense between the sevens and fifteens rugby, that is not burdensome on the unions and especially taxpayers.”
Valenitabua said it was important for sevens rugby to be separated from fifteens. He indicated that this is similar to the Fijian Drua model. “My view is that we have the capacity in the board to take sevens rugby to higher grounds as we are twice Olympic gold medallists and World Cup winners several times. “In a separate financial structure, I believe that Ben Gollings and future head coaches will take sevens rugby to new heights as they do not have to share resources with other programmes.
“We need to rise up to the next level as the world of sevens rugby has caught up if not surpassed us.” Valenitabua said as Government’s
representative in the FRU board, he needed to see sponsorships increasing to a level that commensurated with the Fiji Rugby brand. “Fiji Water is something we at Rugby House dream to be included in all Fiji Rugby merchandise.
“We will work towards realising this dream and the benchmark has been set by the Prime Minister meeting the owners in the United States.
“We already have Fiji Airways, CJ Patel, Vodafone and with others on board so we can only rise up from there,” he added.
Valenitabua replaces Commodore Humphrey Tawake, who was the nominee of former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarana.
The new FRU board chairman will be announced this week.