Fiji threaten to withdraw from New Zealand and Australian legs of IRB World Sevens in 2012
Fiji, still the biggest draw card in sevens, is threatening to withdraw from the New Zealand and Australian legs of next year's competition unless those nations lift their travel ban on Fijian players linked with the existing military regime.
No pushovers: Fiji's Watisoni Votu in action at Twickenham Photo: PA
By Brendan Gallagher 9:59AM BST 23 May 2011
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The Fijian military is traditionally a big source of the player talent in Fiji but both New Zealand and Australia are insisting that following the Military coup by Voreque Bainimarama in 2006 members of the the Fiji Armed Forces are no longer welcome in thier countries.
That ban extends to this year's World Cup in New Zealand and although Fiji insists it will not withdraw from the fifteens World Cup, they have a much stronger hand to play in the Sevens game in which no tournament is really complete without their presence.
Just to underline the point they absolutely hammered New Zealand, the current IRB world series champions, 42-19 at Twickenham in the semi-finals of the London Emirates Sevens, the London leg of the IRB World series.
FRU chairman colonel Mosese Tikoitoga said he had written to the International Rugby Board (IRB) telling it Fiji may pull out of the tournaments if it could not send its best team.
"Next year, we may have to forego the New Zealand and Australian legs," Tikoitoga told the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation confirming that he had emailed the letter to the ITB offices in Dublin.
The current ban prevents all players and officials with ties to Fiji's military from travelling to Australia and New Zealand, meaning Tikoitoga would also be unable to attend the events in Brisbane and Wellington.
He said he had told the IRB that barring players from military backgrounds amounted to interference in team selection. The World Sevens Series is due to open in Australia's Gold Coast in late November this year, with the Wellington leg in February 2012.
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