A Fijian team will make their National Rugby Championship debut on 2 September against Brisbane City at Ballymore as the fourth season of the family-friendly competition kicks off in Australia.
The participation of a Fiji-based team in the nine-team National Rugby Championship is underwritten by World Rugby and will provide a high-level competition for locally-based players to further their development.
The competition comes on the back of a successful period in Fijian rugby with the national team beating Italy and Scotland on home soil in June before overcoming Tonga and Samoa earlier this month to confirm their place at Rugby World Cup 2019 as the Oceania 1 qualifier in Pool D alongside Australia, Wales, Georgia and either Canada or Uruguay.
Fiji will play four matches at home in the round-robin phase with Sigatoka and Lautoka hosting one and the capital Suva two.
World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “The Pacific Islands play a major role in the sport’s heritage and future and World Rugby is committed to working with our friends and colleagues in Fiji, Samoa and Tonga to further assist them with the unique challenges that they face and provide opportunities to thrive.
“Participation in the National Rugby Championship represents a great opportunity building towards Rugby World Cup 2019 to develop locally-based players in a highly-competitive environment and therefore a viable alternative to playing overseas, while bringing more fixtures to Fiji.
“I would like to thank the Australian Rugby Union for embracing this opportunity. It is a major milestone for the sustainable development of rugby development in Fiji.”
Photo: Bruce Southwick/Zoomfiji