THE Fiji Rugby Union is now actively working towards sorting the logistics for where to base the FIJI Water Flying Fijians for the upcoming inaugural Nations Championship in July.
With the venues for their home games in the UK confirmed, a team from the FRU including general manager high-performance unit Nacanieli Cawanibuka, CEO Koli Sewabu and directors Cathy Wong and Lailanie Burnes are in London to evaluate the different options the team could explore.
“They will be there for a while to look at the logistics of how we are going to place our Flying Fijians there. Do we base them at one camp and then just travel to each game, or we look at a camp in Wales, prepare for that then we come and move to a camp in England and another one in Scotland,” FRU board chairman John Sanday stated.
“So, all those different options are being evaluated, and they will be reporting back to the board on what option we have to take.
“If you ask me personally, I think we should just have one base so we could stay there and travel to the game venues. For logistical reasons and to try and preserve our high performance, we want to limit all the unnecessary travel, so we try and keep them together, well rested, well hydrated and well prepared.”
The key factor in choosing the best possible option will be based on funding and covering costs. The FRU is set to receive a participation fee of US$2m.
“It will cost a lot of money and that’s the negotiation that is currently happening. We are projecting that a lot of that will be covered from the ticket sales and participation fees that we will be earning.
“We will be earning a participation fee of US$2m and that’s to be paid in the first quarter of this year from which we will cover all our expenses. All that negotiation is happening on how best we can get the outcome with the least amount of expense at the same time not compromising quality and all that.”
Fiji will face Wales in first Nations Championship match at Cardiff City Stadium on July 4.
