The Fijian Drua, Super Rugby Pacific’s newest franchise, and Rooster Chicken yester­day announced a three-year spon­sorship deal.

Part of the benefits partnering with the Fijian Drua, is the Roster Chicken brand will be on the ster­num of their match jerseys.

Fijian Drua Chief Executive Of­ficer Brian Thorburn said: “We are beyond delighted that Rooster Chicken has stepped on board to be part of our historic Super Rugby journey. Rooster Chicken is a well-known brand in Fiji and we look forward to helping them grow.

“We are grateful to them for their belief in our club and supporting our brand new team. In addition to helping Rooster Chicken elevate their awareness through branding on our jerseys, we’ll share excit­ing co-created content for our fans and customers via our digital and social plat­forms.

“Sponsors are crucial to our ob­jectives both on and off the field. It is through their support that we’re able to cover the large operational costs of a fully professional rugby club.

“On behalf of all our fans, players and staff, I thank Roost­er Chicken for joining our sta­ble of sponsors and welcome them to our vuvale.”

Rooster Poultry General Manager Stanley Raniga said: “Most of us grew up watching Super Rugby and we could not miss the opportunity to sponsor Fiji’s first team in the competi­tion after years of lobbying by various stakeholders.

“Rugby is our national sport and we are delighted to be there for the Fijian Drua despite the challenges that we all face due to COVID-19.

“It is important that the club have the necessary resources to be suc­cessful and we want to be part of the Drua journey with our fellow Fijians.

“This sponsorship was made pos­sible with the support of our ma­jor distributor, Ashabhai & Co Pte Limited and their resident Direc­tor, Harish Patel.”

The Fijian Drua will announce other sponsors in the coming weeks.