Fiji Rugby Union Board of Trustee chair Peter Mazey admitted that the Fiji Air ways Fijiana 7s team did sleep at the Sydney Airport while on their way to the Dubai 7s in December 2023.
In a press conference yesterday, Mazey apologised to the coaching team and players of the Fijiana 7s team who were let down due to miscommunication and poor planning.
The World Rugby HSBC Tournament team responsible for travel and layover accommodation was not aware of the Sydney Airport closure every night at 11 hence no accommodation was booked.
The Fijiana 7s team was not away on another national commitment and the Fiji 7s coach Saiasi Fuli was responsible for overseeing this matter.
A misunderstanding and miscommunication between the World Rugby HSBC Tournament team and the Fiji Rugby Union saw the Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s sleep outside of the Sydney Airport while on their way to the Dubai 7s last year.
After the FRU clarified that the Fiji men’s 7s team slept at the Ibis Airport Hotel in Sydney, pictures of the women’s team sleeping on benches outside of the airport surfaced.
Upon investigation over the weekend, FRU Board of Trustees chair Peter Mazey confirmed that the pictures are real, and the team did sleep for four hours outside the Sydney Airport.
“As it is usual practice all the travel and layover accommodation are organized by the World Rugby HSBC Tournament team. Apparently, they advised they weren’t aware that Sydney Airport closes at 11pm every night, hence they did not book accommodation in Sydney. They thought it was a normal layover and the team could rest between flights within the airport,” Mazey explained.
The Fijiana 7s team manager who was supposed to be handling such matters was away on other national commitments.
“Normally in our case, the team manager would attend to this sort of issues where these were outstanding issues that had been attended to by World Rugby such as booking rooms but regrettably, the team manager was returning from the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands. She didn’t join the team until later in Dubai. None of it is right as the girls were let down.”
Ana Tuivanuavou was the acting manager at the time, and she was replaced by Luse Kotobalavu after the Dubai 7s.
Tuivanuavou was involved with the Fijiana 7s team that competed at last year’s Pacific Games.
Upon arrival in Sydney, head coach Saiasi Fuli looked for accommodation but none were available.
“Normally the assistant coach would step in but in this case, he was also in the Solomons, and he was on his way. So, it was the coach himself that would normally take over.
“I can’t be sure if he (Saiasi Fuli) brought it up in his speech, I have to check, I don’t record it either. The coach’s report is on the on-field performance,” Mazey added.
Mazey has assured that incident will not happen again and it has taught them a lot of lessons.
