2 Feb 2018

Sport: World Rugby visit Fiji to assess 7s bid

11:21 am on 2 February 2018

World Rugby has concluded a two day visit to Fiji where they inspected venues, hotels and other facilities as part of the Fiji Rugby Union's bid to host a leg on the World Sevens Series.

Head of Competitions and Performance at World Rugby, Mark Egan, said the visit was an opportunity to review progress made by the FRU in preparing their bid and to answer any questions the bid team had regarding the tender process, the tournament delivery requirements and any commercial or financial matters.

"A very experienced and capable bid team is in place and it is obvious that they have a solid understanding of our requirements and they are making good progress in preparing the FRU bid submission," he said.

Mark Egan (2L) and Peter Horne (2R) were in Suva to review progress in the FRU's bid to host a World Series leg.

Mark Egan (2L) and Peter Horne (2R) were in Suva to review progress in the FRU's bid to host a World Series leg. Photo: Supplied/Fiji Rugby Union

"We look forward to receiving the final document at the end of February and I have every confidence that the FRU will submit a professional and robust bid that will seek to meet all the World Rugby requirements.

"We've been impressed by many aspects of the bid preparation and there is no question that Fiji will offer a very unique and passionate bid for our Executive Committee to consider when determining the host unions for the next World Series hosting cycle. "

Fiji Rugby Union CEO John O'Connor said there was still a lot of work to do but they remain on track to submit the bid at the end of February.

"Our taskforce has completed considerable work in preparing for our bid submission and the visit by World Rugby was timely in receiving feedback in a range of areas," he said.

"We inspected venues, hotels, observed prospective training sites and engaged with our team in relation to many matters. We thanked them for taking the time to visit and assist us with our preparations".