FRU plans major restructure

Changes should be expected at Rugby House next year as the Fiji Rugby Union works on aligning its standard as a tier one rugby nation. 

Chairman John Sanday said the board has been working on the restructure on the last six months when they took effective control of the organisation. 

Part of the restructure was the appointment of Talemo Waqa as acting chief operations officer to oversee operations. 

The board said the position was crucial to free chief executive officer Koli Sewabu to focus on strategic priorities, most notably the significant workload ahead of Fiji hosting the 2026 Nation’s Championship in the UK. 

Sanday added they would also finalise the 10-year strategic plan which was discussed in detail at Saturday’s board meeting. 

“Once we complete the 10-year strategic plan, we hope to confirm him (Waqa) the role,” Sanday said. 

“We will be making several more personnel announcements in the coming months. We will hasten slowly and we will get there. 

“The way I want it to be is that FRU will no longer be just an administrative body in an old wooden building on Gordon Street. 

“We are reengineering it into a globally recognised, high performing corporate entity that provides a style of rugby and entertainment that unites the country but also is an undeniable force on the world rugby stage.” 

He said this would only be achieved with the right skills and capabilities. 

“We will be looking for people who want to come every day to the office to build the brand rather than coming to the office at Gordon St to work.” 

Another discussion was the finalisation of the FRU land acquisition plan. 

“We will be proceeding with the process of leasing the block of land that has been identified, subject to final approval of the Trustees,” he said. 

“The announcement of the home games venue in the UK starting with Wales on July 4th, followed by England on July 11th and Scotland on July 18th. We are also now working on game day programme. It will be exciting and will be about us Fijians winning on the world stage and it will be exciting.” 

He added FRU would also have a completely new and fresh social media strategy. 

“This will be exciting as we will now have a bigger and more savvy presence on social media.” 

Sanday acknowledged the board directors for their commitment throughout this year. “We held a commerce and finance sub-committee meeting on Christmas Eve. While everyone was busy out and about, we were working. 

“On Saturday, we had a full board meeting that ended late into the day. I remind the people, that we have not received one cent in directors fees all this time.” 

Sanday added: “I would like to urge the fans and the rugby public of Fiji for continued prayers and support as we journey together into the Tier 1 status and make our rugby one of the strongest and most successful brands globally.