Suva wants money back from FRU

The responsibility for providing a medical doctor fell on Macuata Rugby Union as the hosts, a duty they failed to fulfill.

“This is a huge issue because it is not easy taking a full team to Vanua Levu.”

“These expenses include meals, boat fares, transportation, and other costs and all this will be accounted for before presenting a reimbursement request to FRU.”

The match commissioner had no choice but to call off the game after only 10 minutes, further adding to Suva Rugby Union’s disappointment.

Tuifagalele is urging other hosting unions to take heed and ensure such mishaps are prevented in future matches.

“This should also be a lesson to all other unions that will be hosting Skipper Cup matches over the next few weeks.”

Meanwhile, Fiji Rugby Union operations manager Tiko Matawalu says the matter will be dealt with first within the union with a collective agreement before any update can be given to the public.

“This issue is not going to be dealt with in the public forum.

“We have a process and forum where this will be discussed first with a collective agreement before any update can be given to the public,” Matawalu said.

Macuata under-20 manager Aisea Vusonitokalau also expressed his disappointment with what occurred and hopes their union will ensure this does not happen in the future.

“This is the job of our union to make sure that the medical doctor is on the ground, and we are also disappointed that the match was called off,” he said.

“The boys and the staff of the team are embarrassed with what happened as we were all looking forward to playing against Suva and we hope the union will prevent this from happening again in the future.”