FIJI Water Flying Fijians head coach Senirusi Seruvakula hopes Fiji will be in a position to host Nations Championship matches within the next three years, saying improved stadium infrastructure is vital for Fiji’s rugby future.
Following Fiji’s 33-17 loss to Scotland, Seruvakula said the passionate support from Fijian fans in Edinburgh highlighted what international rugby could look like if top-tier nations were able to travel to Fiji.
“I think this is the best,” Seruvakula said when asked about the atmosphere during the tour.
“A lot of Fijians turned up today (Sunday), the weather was good and hopefully one day we’ll host a game.”
At present, Fiji cannot stage Nations Championship fixtures because it does not have a stadium that meets the tournament’s minimum seating requirements.
“We don’t have the capacity of the stadium back home,” Seruvakula said.
“But this is good for a start so that we can get a lot of revenue and then build our stadium.”
He hopes investment into infrastructure will eventually allow Fiji to welcome Northern Hemisphere nations for major Test matches.
“For the next three years, hopefully the people leading Fiji Rugby will build a stadium so the teams from the Northern Hemisphere can travel to Fiji.”
Seruvakula said he had been informed Fiji would require a stadium with a capacity of about 30,000 spectators to qualify as a host venue.
He confirmed that even the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva would not meet those requirements.
As a result, Fiji is unlikely to host Pacific Nations Cup matches in the immediate future.
“I think in three years’ time,” Seruvakula said.
Despite the Scotland defeat, Seruvakula said the campaign has provided valuable lessons for the coaching staff.
“There are a lot of learnings from these three games.
“We now know how we can improve as a team and also in selecting the players. We know where they are at the moment, who we need to bring in and how we monitor them. It’s a lot of learning.”
