Rugby Australia slammed for ‘extraordinary’ Fijian Drua treatment a month after New Zealand’s ‘lack of hospitality’ criticised
Fijian Drua in action in Super Rugby Women and the men's team having to take action after bus did not arrive.
After New Zealand faced accusations of mistreating Fijian Drua earlier this season, Rugby Australia now finds themselves in the firing line.
Boss of the Pacific Island franchise, Mark Evans, has hit out at the governing body ahead of the Drua’s clash with the Reds in the Super Rugby Women competition.
They take on the Queensland outfit in the semi-finals of the competition on Sunday, but Evans is unhappy that they only arrive in the country 24 hours before the game.
Tournament regulations stipulate that RA must pay for a maximum of three nights but, after being hindered by the finale of the regular season – the order of the top-four was only confirmed on March 30 – they booked the Fijians in for Saturday rather than Friday.
Final preparations affected
As a result, the Drua will head back on Tuesday which means that should they reach the showpiece event, they will only get one training session at home before flying out for the final.
It has left the former Harlequins and Melbourne Storm CEO fuming, who criticised RA’s lack of contingency planning.
“I find it extraordinary. They are claiming budget,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I know times are hard, but they are a multimillion-dollar organisation. Are you seriously telling me that in the circumstances, you can’t stretch to one extra night?
“C’mon, this is a final. They said: ‘There are your three nights’. I said: ‘Hold on, you want us to come on the Saturday so we only have 24 hours in the city before we play?’.
“I am sure it has been done previously, but that’s not how you want to prepare for finals football. To hide behind the word maximum is disingenuous to the extreme.
“If we win, our preparation is totally compromised. We would go back to Sydney [on Thursday] and play the Waratahs or the Force, and I doubt they’ll have been on two international flights within five days of their game.
“I don’t think it is equitable.”
Rugby Australia responded and defended their actions, claiming that it gives the Drua enough time in the city before kick-off.
“The travel arrangements for the Fijian Drua are aligned with the competition guidelines and consistent with the precedents set by all travelling teams in the Super Rugby Women’s competition,” RA’s statement said.
“Rugby Australia believes that the arrival of the Drua in Brisbane on the morning of the day before the game is sufficient from both a logistics and high-performance perspective.”
Men’s team also had issues
This situation follows an incident in February when the men’s team bus did not arrive ahead of their encounter with the Hurricanes in Napier.
As a result, they decided to travel in a truck booked to take their luggage and equipment.
Their treatment was heavily criticised, including by Fijian-born former Wallabies star Lote Tuqiri, who hit out at New Zealand’s “lack of hospitality.”
Tuqiri told AAP in March: “It’s ridiculous. You’d think the organisers would have it sorted, given how old the competition is. It’s not like a new competition. It was probably not meant but, I mean, it’s actually unacceptable.
“You can’t expect a team to be treated that way,” Tuqiri added. “They’re not an under-11s or under-12s team who have put funds together (for a junior road-trip). They’re a professional outfit and they should be treated accordingly.”
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