Fiji rugby

Ex-All Black Pat Lam blows up about Fiji's treatment of Semi Radradra

Lam is fuming that Radradra appeared to suffer a leg injury early in Fiji’s Eight Nations Cup victory over Georgia in Edinburgh last weekend, but was not replaced by coach Cotter.

Now Lam says he will make a formal complaint to World Rugby over Fiji’s injury management of Bristol’s star player.

The Fiji centre is now set to miss Bristol’s opening two Champions Cup games against Clermont Auvergne and Connacht.

Fiji sevens relishing local competition while World Series remains up in air

The Fijians finished third on last season's global circuit, which was cut short because of the global pandemic, while the first four tournaments of the 2021 season have already been cancelled.

Fiji's 23-man training squad goes back into camp on Wednesday and coach Gareth Baber said the players were handling a difficult situation as best they could.

Officials to meet to review final match for Covid-stricken Fiji team

The meeting comes at the end of the quarantine period the team was placed in when 29 of the touring party tested positive for the coronavirus.

Since the first test results two weeks ago, the team has been isolating in their hotel in central France.

The team has already had three Autumn Nations Cup matches cancelled because of the outbreak, including a scheduled game against Scotland this weekend.

The final match on the planned itinerary is a consolation fixture against the fourth-placed Pool A team - which is most likely to be Georgia - on 5 December.

     

Dan Leo’s ‘Oceans Apart’ rugby film receives global support

Dan Leo- who is the founder of the Pacific Rugby Players Welfare, traveled to the UK to interview Pacific islands rugby players and the former greats in Samoa, Fiji and Tonga.

The film was released on Monday, titled ‘Oceans Apart: Greed, Betrayal and Pacific Island Rugby’.

The film highlights the struggles Pacific islands teams face together with the players.

Celebrity chef, Phil Vickery also reacted to the film and shared the preview on his Twitter account saying “For everyone who loves our game this is truly emotional please watch and share.”

Fiji look to salvage rugby tour from Covid ruins

Over the weekend it was announced the Flying Fijians would have their third consecutive test match cancelled due to a coronavirus outbreak in the squad.

The team's match game against Scotland, originally set for 29 November, has gone the way of two other matches.

Fiji's clash with Italy was supposed to be played on Saturday gone, but was called off after 29 members tested positive for Covid-19 last week.

A test against France was cancelled the week before as it became evident the virus was present among the touring party.

Fiji rugby star's rape appeal returns to court

The Olympic gold medallist is appealing his eight-year sentence for the rape of a young woman in 2018.

In court Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Lee Burney, said they had received the affidavit in reply by Nasilasila's lawyer, Mosese Naivalu.

Naivalu sought to have the affidavit submitted to the State, paginated and certain iTaukei messages in the affidavit be translated into English.

Naivalu told the court this was because the copies before the court registry and the trial counsels had not had their pages numbered.

Fiji rugby team self-isolating after positive Covid tests

The team's Autumn Nations Cup opener against Les Bleus was cancelled at the weekend after five players tested positive for the coronavirus.

Additional tests were carried out late last week after a player - understood to be centre Semi Radradra - returned a positive test last Tuesday.

Pacific Rugby Players CEO Aayden Clarke said the Fiji team took all the necessary precautions.

"What's happened inside the camp, although extremely unfortunate timing, is just a sample of what's happening in society at the moment," he said.

Fiji Rugby attempt to calm fears as entire camp placed in quarantine

Their participation in the eight team tournament was put into question when four positive tests, understood to include captain Semi Radradra, forced the cancellation of today’s match with France.

There is understandable frustration in the Fiji squad which has been training in France and has twice been struck by positive tests resulting in players having to isolate.

Fiji rugby team returns negative Covid tests

The Fiji Rugby Union said the trio who initially tested positive for Covid-19 have now tested negative after a second and third round of testing.

The Fiji squad is being tested twice-weekly as they prepare for their Autumn Nations Cup opener against France next weekend.

Three people tested positive for the coronavirus last week after arriving at their camp in Limoges in central France, while a further three people went into self-isolation after the Barbarians game against England was scrapped following a breach of team protocols in London.

Fans now want Rugby Championship expansion

Having withdrawn from this season’s Australia-based competition due to concerns surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, fears rose that that could spell an end to the four-team competition, with the Springboks favouring a potentially seismic move to the northern hemisphere and the Six Nations.

Those fears have obviously been allayed and after the news was announced by SANZAAR, there have now called for the Rugby Championship tournament to welcome new additions – with Japan and Fiji being the most discussed.