Q&A | John Sanday: 'We are building a stronger future for Fiji Rugby'

It’s best to put the Flying Fijians loss to England in the second round of the Nations Championship behind us. The way forward is to learn from what went wrong and how we could make it right.

This journey has been a learning curve with the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) board of directors having the guts to host three of our Test matches in the United Kingdom (UK).

Despite the Test losses, Fiji Rugby has been gaining in other avenues, which boost the development of the sport here.

After Week 2, we had an interview with FRU board chairman JOHN SANDAY and he has this to say:

SUN: How did things go in the second week in London in terms of hosting our second Nations Championship in the UK?

SANDAY: There is no denying that the result against England was incredibly tough to swallow.

Like all of you, our hearts are heavy because we hold our Flying Fijians to the highest regard and the result hurt deeply.

I hear your frustrations, I share your disappointment, and I take full responsibility to ensure we learn rebuild and improve.

But while the 80 minutes on the field did not go our way, the off the field performance of Fiji Rugby over the last two weeks has been nothing short of world class.

SUN: What were some of the challenges faced and at the same time could you also mention some of the major achievements?

SANDAY: History was made yesterday (Saturday). We witnessed the largest ‘home game’ crowd we have ever experienced, resulting in a landmark commercial success. The atmospheric game-day experience fuelled by a vibrant colourful pre-game entertainment package showed the world how spectacular a Fijian rugby event truly is.

SUN: The Fiji Rugby brand, what is its impact in terms of businesses?

SANDAY: The financial windfall is not just a win for today (Saturday). It is the vital fuel that will fund our financial strength and also fund our grassroots programmes, improve our high performance structures and safeguard the future of Fiji Rugby for generations to come.

For example, the surplus from the England game will pay for the premium of the land we are acquiring at Saweni.

We will share the revenue with our member unions to alleviate their financial struggles in the provincial competitions.

We also plan to clear out all the existing debts of Fiji Rugby. So from that end, it has been a commercial and financial success.

SUN: Were there other impacts that have come out of this series?

SANDAY: Yes, even more powerful than the numbers has been the spirit of our people. The way the Fijian diaspora in the UK has rallied together has been the true hallmark of this tour. To see young Fijian girls and boys born thousands of miles away from our shores, connecting so deeply, proudly and emotionally with their culture through rugby is a victory that no scoreboard can ever take away.

We are building a global family, and the connection is unbreakable.

SUN: Are our players too self-centered and don’t understand that they need to be answerable to their employers- in this case FRU? Also, with Scotland, next what are some of improvements being put in place to better our performance on and off the field?

SANDAY: We are not done yet. This Saturday we face Scotland. It is another massive test, another chance for our players to redeem themselves, and another golden opportunity to expand our global fan base and deepen the meaningful cultural connections we are making here in the UK.

I don’t involve myself in coaching and team dynamics as that the is the domain of the coaching and team management staff.

But from discussions yesterday (Saturday) evening they are all focused on fixing things up and putting on a stronger outing against Scotland.

We therefore need your voice, your prayers, and your unwavering belief as always and we celebrate the immense growth of our game off the field and look forward to a spectacular finish this weekend.