Fijian Drua CEO Mark Evans has stressed the urgent need for timely payment of allowances owed to players amid ongoing issues between the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) and its athletes. Many Drua players, who are also part of the Flying Fijians squad, have not yet received their allowances from FRU from June-July test series, leading to frustration within the rugby community regarding the financial challenges facing Fiji’s athletes. “Players should be paid monies owed in a timely fashion,” said Evans in response to the ongoing issues between the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) and its players.
Evans clarifi ed that players contracted with the Drua receive their salaries fortnightly for 12 months of the year, irrespective of their involvement with the national squad. “Players contracted with the Drua are paid their salaries by us fortnightly for 12 months of the year whether they are in the national squad or not. “These payments are not aff ected by any delay in the payment of international allowances by the national governing body.
Therefore, many of your understandable questions regarding morale, injuries, wellbeing, performance etc. Simply do not arise. The Drua players are paid their Drua salaries as they always are – on time and in full every 14 days.
He acknowledged the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the unpaid allowances but reiterated the Drua’s independence from the FRU. “We view the situation as most unfortunate -of course the players should be paid monies owed.
