The World Rugby U20 Championship 2021 has been cancelled this year because of the continuing effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
FIJI Rugby Union’s High Performance Unit general manager Simon Raiwalui said the unfortunate and yet avoidable cancelation was a blow to the Fiji Rugby Academy players.
“Most of these young players have been part of the HPU Academy program from last year preparing towards this campaign,” Raiwalui said.
The decision was made in consultation with potential hosts and participating unions considering all aspects from financial impact to player welfare implications.
However Raiwalui said FRU would look into other opportunities for the Fiji under-20.
“Although the championship won’t go ahead we’ll look at opportunities regionally,” Raiwalui said.
“We’ll look at our Pacific neighbours as well as Australia and New Zealand and see if we can get some matches for our U20 team.”
Meanwhile, World Rugby continues to work with regions and unions to identify regional competition opportunities in a safe environment.
