Fiji Rugby Football Union Trust Board Member Jenny Sito (front, second from right) at the announcement of the Australian-Pacific Rugby Union Partnership funding in Australia

The Australian Government and Rugby Australia will partner to deliver a four-year, $14.2 million investment to support high-performance rugby unions in the Pacific, including Fiji.

The funding will be delivered through the Australian-Pacific Rugby Union Partnership, under the Australian Government’s PacificAus Sports program.

Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy says the funding will create pathways to increase Pacific representation in elite rugby and strengthen national teams in the region.

Conroy says the program is building on the success of the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua, supporting its continued participation in the Shop N Save Super Rugby

Pacific, as well as Australia’s Super W competition women’s competition.

According to the Minister, other key initiatives include providing Pacific rugby staff with access to elite Australia training and expertise, the establishment of the Penina Pasifika side to compete in the Super W pre-season competition and enhancing national women’s sevens programs in Samoa and the Solomon Islands.

He adds in addition to enabling the success of the Fijian Drua, the partnership provides unique opportunities for engagement at community, national and regional levels, deepening people-to-people links and close regional ties.

The partnership will also increase opportunities for Australian sporting engagement in the Pacific through ongoing Super Rugby Pacific and Super Rugby women’s fixtures in Fiji.

The Fiji Rugby Union and its counterparts around the region will be supported to host other major fixtures between Pacific and Australian teams and to join regional