If the Fiji Water Flying Fijians is included in the Rugby Championship, as has been reported since the concept was first mentioned, it will provide Fijian rugby with the next important step in their international growth.
This was highlighted by Swire Shipping Fijian Drua CEO Mark Evans who says that this will be really important for Fiji at a number of levels.
Evans says firstly, he feels the Flying Fijians are ready for it and secondly that they will be a handful for any team in Fiji.
He adds no other team plays so many away games as Fiji and in the last 18 months, Fiji has played 25 games and 3 of them were at home.
Evans further says with the Drua, they run a 37-38 man senior squad for the Drua, with a 10-12 player development squad underneath.
He says they have just started the Academy for 16 to 19-year-olds, which in two years’ time will be populated with around 90 players.
He adds it has created a pretty decent structure and with it, they aim to produce a constant stream of players, and it should give boys at 15 or 16 years of age an alternative to going overseas.
Evans says they hope these pathways will encourage players to stay in Fiji, come through and play for the Drua, then go on to play for the Flying Fijians, and then maybe head to Europe or Japan at 27 or 28 just like how it happens everywhere else.
Meanwhile, the Flying Fijians leave our shores today for their November tests tour.
They will take on Scotland at 5.40am next Sunday at Murrayfield, Scotland in their first test, before playing Wales on the 11th of November at 1.40am at the Millennium Stadium in Wales.
They will then take on Spain on the 17th of November at 2am at the José Zorrilla stadium in Spain and then play Ireland on the 24th of November at 3.10am at Aviva Stadium in their last test.
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