The cancellation of the Oceania Cup in June will not affect the Vodafone Fijian Bati’s preparation for next year’s Rugby League World Cup in England, says a senior official.

Speaking to SUNsports on Saturday, Fiji National Rugby League acting chief executive officer Don Natabe said they are working on what other alternatives to take.

The Bati’s two Oceania Cup matches scheduled for June have been postponed due to coronavirus but the Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation (APRLC) remains committed to delivering the Oceania Cup fixtures in either October or November.

“We should not worry much because the cancellation of the tournament won’t affect our Pool C seedings against Australia, Scotland and Italy,” Natabe said.

“This means with the two games being stopped there will be no winner declared at the end of the Test match in October.”

“At this time FNRL is monitoring the situation very closely with other Pacific island member nations.”

Natabe said during their meetings they have also discussed on the possible scenarios in playing international games during the National Rugby League (NRL) matches in Australia.”

The NRL competition is still going on but is played under closed stadiums.

“Now will have to wait and see on how long we’ll have to wait for this killer virus to leave so we can continue our games as scheduled,” Natabe added.

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

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