SUPER Rugby Pacific chief executive Jack Mesley says the opportunity for Fiji to host a Bula Round of the competition would depend on the provision of new facilities and fulfilling requirements to make it happen.
He expressed those sentiments prior to the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua’s last home match against the Western Force at Churchill Park in Lautoka last Saturday.
“I would love to see a Bula Round here in Lautoka, in Fiji. To do that, we do need some facilities, we’d need lights, we’d need more change rooms to be able to play that many games over a weekend,” Mesley told the media.
The Bula (or Super) Round concept is a unique competition format of the Super Rugby Pacific competition where all matches in a single round are played at the same venue in one weekend.
“There’s some of the things that we would need to enable that but I definitely think it would be a fantastic event,” he added.
With the prospect of a Bula Round being a possibilty, he highlighted how fans from Australia and New Zealand would be eager to embrace the idea of travelling to Fiji for it.
“I know a lot of New Zealanders and Australians would travel and come here and experience the Fijian culture, Fijian rugby and so I think it would be a fantastic event and we’ll continue to talk to the government about making it a reality,” he said.
In the same vein, the chief executive emphasised how the Fijian Drua had become a core and integral part of the competition.
“The Drua have been a great addition to Super Rugby Pacific, they add so much flair, so much colour and so much culture to our competition,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Fijian Drua have a bye week and meet the Queensland Reds next week in Brisbane, Australia.
