Fiji Rugby Union chief executive officer, John O’Connor has clarified that no provincial unions nominated former Vodafone Fijian 7s head coach Ben Ryan for the Coach of the Year category of the Fiji Rugby Awards Night.

The first-ever awards night will be staged at the Novotel Suva Lami Bay Entertainment Centre on Saturday.

There were questions raised yesterday by the international media on why the Englishman was not included in the Coach of the Year category after he led the Fiji 7s team to the historic gold medal win at the Rio Olympic Games.

“For this rugby awards nomination, the Fiji Rugby Union does not have a say in the list but all nominations have been submitted by the various union officials,” O’Connor said.

“We only shortlisted the names we had received from the unions. All nominations received were locally focused.”

RYAN FOR FIJI SPORTS AWARDS

On the other hand, O’ Connor confirmed that FRU has nominated Ryan for the  Coach of the Year category of the Fiji Sports Awards that will be held on February 17 at the Vodafone Arena, Suva.

The Fiji Sports Awards is a joint programme of the Fiji Sports Council (FSC), Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) and Fiji National Sports Commission (FNSC).

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

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