Fiji Rugby Union : The Sport of Rugby union is regarded as the national sport of the picturesque island nation of Fiji, located in the South Pacific Ocean. Since the origin of this full-contact team sport in England, dating back to 1823, it rules have evolved ever since along with the form of the game, and has established itself worldwide, as a popular recreational sport.
Rugby Union was introduced to the island nation during the 1880's and has amalgamated itself into the Fijian culture and tradition.
The Fiji Rugby Union (known as FRU), was originally established as the Fiji Rugby Football Union (FRFU) in 1913, by P J Sheehan, its title was changed in 1963 to the present day FRU. It is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in all of the Fijian islands, as well as created for the prospects of the growth of rugby in Fiji. The Fiji Rugby Union is divided into more than 30 provincial unions, with the number of registered players being an amazing 80,000 approximately.
Affiliated to the International Rugby Board (IRU) in 1987, the Fiji Rugby Union has been awarded the status of being a ‘second tier' rugby playing nation, and receive international funding.
The Fiji Rugby Union, along with the nearby island nations of Samoa and Tonga, are also affiliated to the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (known as PIRA). It had received PIRA affiliation in 2002.
The entire activities and operations of the Fiji Rugby Union is overseen by the President of Fiji, Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda.
The National teams of Fiji playing under the Fiji Rugby Union, for various rugby union matches being played at domestic and international levels are given below as:
- Fiji XV's
- Fiji VII's
- Fiji A “Warriors”
- Indo-Fijian
- Fiji Women
- Fiji Under 21
- Fiji Under 18
- Pacific Islanders
- Fiji Barbarians
At the International level, all Tournaments played by Fiji, under the Fiji Rugby Union, are briefly described below as:
- In the International XV's tournament, Fiji is currently ranked as No.12 worldwide.
- In the Pacific Tri-Nations event, Fiji is the current Pacific Tri Nations Champions, and is the leading team from amongst the Pacific islands.
- In the International VII's tournament, the Fiji Rugby union team was the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens Champions, defeating New Zealand.
- In the IRB Seven World Series, played on the IRB Sevens Circuit, Fiji won the series in 2006.
- The Asian Games event will be played by the Indo-Fijian team.
- In the Women's Rugby World Cup event, the Fijian Women's team will play compete in the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup.
- The IRB Pacific Rugby Cup will be played amongst the island groups of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The Fiji A ‘Warriors' and the Fiji Barbarians team will play for Fiji in this event.
- The Pacific Nations Cup Event is played by 5 Pacific nations namely, Fiji, New Zealand, Japan, Tonga and Samoa.
- The other teams of Fiji are the international Under 21 and Under 18 teams.
At the Domestic level, all Tournaments played by Fiji, under the Fiji Rugby Union, are given below as:
- The Colonial Cup
- The Sanyo Cup
- Farebrother-Sullivan Cup
- BP Oil VII's Series
The Fiji Rugby Union's activities in Fiji include monitoring of operations, organizing matches, managing the performances and training of the players , both at national and international levels. Thus, the Fiji Rugby Union is responsible vastly for the growth of the national sport of rugby union, as well as strive to make Fiji the leading rugby playing nation in the world.
