The lack of standard playing grounds remain a challenge for the Fiji Rugby Union as they are set to roll out for their domestic competitions calendar.
The lack of and unavailability of grounds was one of the main reasons the FRU decided to shift their domestic rugby competitions to start in August.
FRU general manager Operations and development Sale Sorovaki said they had to plan strategically to meet this challenge.
“It’s just getting the draws early in terms of ground bookings. We’ve had to shift as well simply because of the non-availability of grounds. We had Super Rugby then the Deans so with the Deans coming to the end of their competition, we are starting ours just to make sure that there is ground availability.
“It is a good problem to have; we just need to get the unions to work harder and try to source some pieces of land for them to have a rugby ground,” he said.
With a week remaining until round one of the Skipper Cup and Marama Championship kicks off, unions were reminded of factors such as compliance and player welfare.
“It is a huge logistical exercise trying to manage 44 games all across Fiji.
“Player welfare has always been an important consideration regardless of whether they are playing Kaji or Skipper or at the elite level, that remains paramount in whatever we do as rugby administrators,” Sorovaki added.
The Skipper and Marama Championship will begin this Saturday while the Ranadi and Vanua competitions are scheduled for September 5.
