Plan to refurbish FRU headquarters is still on

The Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) is on track with plan to improve and refurbish its headquarters at Gordon Street in Suva.

This was confirmed to SUNsports by FRU board of director John Sanday who also clarified that there are procedures they have to observe before carrying out the work.

“All assets of Fiji Rugby are owned in trust by the FRU Trust and the Trustees are in charge of this,” Sanday said.

“We will recommend to them (Trustees) at the right time and seek their approval.

“But it goes without saying that we have a very strategic asset in the heart of Suva central business district (CBD) and we acknowledge the vision and foresight of the late Barrie Sweetman for the acquisition of that property.”

The former Flying Fijians No.8 said 2025 was the first full year of operation under the new board.

Sanday highlighted that in 2025, the full focus was on organisational restructure, strengthening financial performance and strong governance oversight.

“I would say we have fixed up about 70% (per cent) of the issues that needed attention.

Strategic plan

“The remaining ones will be completed this financial year. I would also say, our focus for 2025 was to finalise the 10-year strategic plan and I am proud to report that it has been completed.”

He indicated that the strategic plan is based on four (4) pillars of which are;

• Performance Excellence;
• Organisational Empowerment;
• Commercial Sustainability; and
• Brand performance.

“We are now very clear on our growth path going forward. We are also nearly done with the fixing of the remaining issues so we are in a good place to accelerate our progress.

“The clean audit report for 2025 financials has provided a floor from which to build the balance sheet.

“We now have stronger confidence in the numbers coming out and can start focusing on the future we plan to build for Fiji Rugby.

“The clean audit also generates confidence to our stakeholders and bankers and we will approach them (Trustees) at the right time with our projects, including the refurbishment or redesign of Rugby House.” Sanday added.