Fiji Airways Flying Fijians Coach Vern Cotter says there was not much consultation done with the players and it was probably better to go with a clean jersey against the All Blacks last night.
The team was supposed to wear jerseys displaying the “Vaccinate Fiji” message but this was not the case when the side ran out.
TVNZ Sports reported that this was due to differing opinions in the squad regarding the message.
When questioned during the post-match conference last night about the reason behind this, Cotter says that is a really complex question and so is the answer.
He says they do not have a full answer to that and players were told quite late without much exchange or consultation.
Cotter says it is a delicate subject for some players.
Auckland-based Dr Api Talemaitoga, a member of New Zealand’s Fijian community told stuff.co the decision by the Flying Fijians not to wear the jersey would be damaging in the country’s fight against the virus.
Dr Talemaitoga is a member of the expert panel for The Whole Truth: COVID-19 Vaccination project.
Talemaitoga said anti-vax sentiment was rife in Fiji, and within Fijian communities in New Zealand.
He says he was at a Fijian community meeting in Henderson talking about vaccination and there was a lot of noise, particularly from the religious right, that should know better.
He says this has infiltrated the team which is just a tragedy for Fiji.
Despite the controversy surrounding the jersey, the Flying Fijians rattled and bruised the All Blacks.
Fiji went down 57-23 in the tough contest.
This is the first time the Flying Fijians have scored 23 points against the All Blacks.
Fiji really impressed in the breakdown area as they won a number of turnovers and got their two tries from lineouts.
Fiji’s tries were scored by Albert Tuisue and Mesulame Kunavula while Fiji were also awarded a penalty try.
Dane Coles got four tries for the All Blacks after coming on as a substitute in the second half.
Their other tries were scored by Jordie Barrett, George Bridge, Will Jordan while David Havili got two tries.
Fiji will play the All Blacks at 7.05pm on Saturday.
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