Fiji Rugby Chief Executive John O’Connor has today issued the following statement:

“I’m pleased to confirm that after comprehensive and productive discussions with the Flying Fijian players, the team has agreed to wear the playing jersey featuring the “Vaccinate Fiji” message against the All Blacks on Saturday.

“We have listened to the concerns raised by some members of the squad regarding the message, and the perspective that individuals have different choices when it comes to vaccination”.

In turn, we explained FRU’s position and support for the vaccination programme in Fiji, which will help save lives and assist our health authorities in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.

Following these discussions, the squad has settled on the “Vaccinate Fiji’ jersey, with an additional “It’s Your Choice” message alongside it.

We thank them for their understanding and participation in this process.

The issue is now settled and we wish the Flying Fijians the very best in the second Test against the All Blacks this Saturday.

We are, of course, delighted by their gallant performance last weekend in the first Test, which speaks volumes about the quality of our players as well as our development and high-performance programmes.

Feedback: leonec@fijisun.com.fj