WINNING consistently is what Fiji Rugby Union chairman John Sanday hopes the FIJI Water Flying Fijians can pull off when the Nations Championship kicks off in July.
It’s the key that will set the union’s 10-year strategic plan in motion and the accelerator for the economic benefits it will bring forth.
Sanday emphasised the onus on emerging victorious in every Nations Championship fixture is of the essence as Fiji now meets the best teams in the game in the inaugural competition.
“We have to win and win consistently against the top teams so that our brand takes centre stage in the world,” he told Times Sport on Tuesday.
And a driving factor behind the Flying Fijians’ performance is the opportunity to present the Fijian rugby brand globally as an attractive business venture for potential future backers.
“We can then price our brand properly and attract the right kind of sponsor that can give us the kind of money that we can use to drive our program and continue to become one of the best teams in the world,” he added.
Achieving that status would come from the depth and scope of the 50-member extended squad picked by acting head coach Senirusi Seruvakula.
A mix of younger talents and the experienced is what makes up the team with 29 out of 50 being players plying their trade in Europe while the remainder are part of the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua. Sanday’s emphasis on what this team meant ranged from commercial viability and the union’s 10-year strategic plan as a beacon towards performance excellence.
Fiji’s home matches will be staged in Cardiff, Wales, Liverpool, England and Edinburgh in Scotland in the Southern Hemisphere round of the championship in July.
