Drua players' welfare questioned in NZ

The unacceptable treatment of the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua upon their arrival in Auckland, New Zealand prior to the game against the Hurricanes have surfaced.

Former Flying Fijian and Waratahs winger Nemani Nadolo has voiced his frustrations on social media and is seeking answers as to why the team members had to wait for the bus for hours, and ended up catching a truck that had no proper ventilation.

Nadolo says the players had to wait at the hotel lobby for hours again because they were denied a late check-in by the hotel staff.

He says when other Super Rugby teams visit Fiji, they are treated like royalty with Police escorts and so forth.

Nadolo says the team had lost the game before the match due to the ill treatment given to them.

Sydney Morning Herald reports Super Rugby Pacific officials say they will use the road trip from hell for the Fijian Drua in New Zealand – which saw the team forced to get a late-night lift in a luggage truck – to improve their travel processes.

After landing in Auckland near midnight, players and team management arrived to find the bus booked by Super Rugby organisers to transport the team to a hotel was nowhere to be seen.

Subsequent calls found the booking had been cancelled due to a mistake by the bus company, according to sources familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to speak freely.

Late at night and lacking options to get to a nearby hotel, the Drua squad piled into the back of a truck booked to transport the team’s luggage and equipment.

The Drua shared a hotel in Napier with their hosts, the Hurricanes, but were told they could not get a late check-out on Saturday ahead of the 4pm game, due to the town also hosting a major triathlon that weekend.

It left the Drua using alternate arrangements for several hours.

According to informed sources, however, the Drua later learned the Hurricanes did not have to check out at the same time and stayed at the hotel until just before the 4pm kickoff.

The Hurricanes won the game 38-34 and Drua coach Glen Jackson hinted at the preparation issues post-game.

Jackson said they knew right from the beginning it was going to be a pretty interesting trip.

He did not think they got all the favours when landing.

When asked by fijivillage News on the issues faced by the Drua in New Zealand, Drua General Manager Rugby, Baden Stephenson said the Drua have gone through the right channels in a respectful way and are now satisfied that the issues have been acknowledged and learnt from.