Fiji team in the Aussie NRC, Super Rugby to follow?

[Lizard]

This looks like a good first step, as long as Aussie doesn't use it to pillage talent.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/austr ... 00c3f503fd

Given how many Fijians play overseas, Super Rugby would have been a step (or two) too far. The NZ NPC is too big and old to easily expand so the NRC, which now seems fairly well established but due to expand anyway, is a good choice.

[rowan]

Already mentioned on the Southern Hemisphere forum, currently second page in, posted (by yours truly) September 2.

But, yes, an exciting development, and perhaps it might eventually lead to a Fiji-based team in Super Rugby.

Meanwhile, how about Samoa & Tonga joining NZ's ITM Cup??

[rowan]

Possibly more good news for Fiji:

Australian Rugby CEO Bill Pulver says playing a Wallabies Test in Fiji is a debt Australia owes the Pacific Island nation.

The Wallabies have a handful of Fijian-born players in their Test side and Pulver said the country had plenty to thank their neighbours for.

New Zealand took a Test to Samoa in recent years, a move that paid off spectacularly, and Pulver said scheduling would be the only barrier.

"We would love to take a Wallaby Test to Fiji," Pulver told the Australian Rugby website.

"Frankly, that's a debt that we owe to Fiji, which is crystal clear in my mind.

"The great challenge is the international match calendar. We, this year, will have our Wallabies play 15 Test matches and we quite simply can't squeeze any more juice out of that orange.

"So, we need to look long-term at the opportunity to do that…We've just got to find a way to do that in the international calendar to fit it in."

[rowan]

Indeed, this article in the Observer raises the prospect of future involvement in Super Rugby. Seems Fiji's success at the Olympics is really paying dividends, with the ARU also talking about playing a test in Suva:

Super Rugby has recently expanded beyond Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa to Japan and Argentina. And the Pacific islands, a long-time nursery of rugby talent, would be a popular addition in any further expansion.
http://sobserver.ws/en/15_10_2016/rugby ... n-2017.htm