ob体育接口

ob体育接口 ob体育接口
Opinion
Live now
Start time
Playing for
End time
Listen live
Up next
ob体育接口

‘Identified a few issues’: Super Rugby CEO addresses Fijian Drua travel problems

Author
Christopher Reive,
Publish Date
Fri, 7 Mar 2025, 4:16pm

‘Identified a few issues’: Super Rugby CEO addresses Fijian Drua travel problems

Author
Christopher Reive,
Publish Date
Fri, 7 Mar 2025, 4:16pm

Super Rugby Pacific chief executive Jack Mesley has addressed concerns surrounding a head of their clash against the Hurricanes in Napier last month.

The Drua reportedly suffered several travel issues before the game, including their bus from the airport to the hotel not showing up, and being denied a late checkout despite the Hurricanes being granted one.

Mesley told the Herald the Drua contacted management to share their concerns and a review was carried out.

鈥淭he Drua, post the game in Napier, approached the competition and outlined a few issues,鈥 Mesley said.

鈥淲e did a thorough review of that and, as our statement has said, we identified a few issues. We鈥檝e spoken to the people that were impacted and where those issues arose, we鈥檙e going to tighten up things.

鈥淏ut certainly nothing untoward and we鈥檙e confident that those sort of issues will be resolved in the future.鈥

Mesley, when asked who was responsible for the issues the Fijian side faced, said Super Rugby Pacific was 鈥渘ot going to put on record anything further on the actual Drua issue than our statement鈥.

He did, however, say the team were satisfied that an appropriate review was undertaken and with the outcomes from it.

Drua general manager Baden Stephenson agreed with that sentiment in a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald.

鈥淭he Drua have gone through the right channels in a respectful way and are now satisfied that issues have been acknowledged and learnt from.鈥

The situation was brought into the public eye last night as an image of the team riding in the back of a truck was posted on social media.

The Drua landed in Auckland near midnight but the bus that was to transport them to their hotel didn鈥檛 show and management eventually found out it had been cancelled, the SMH reported.

The squad and management were instead forced to get into the back of a truck, which had been booked for the team鈥檚 luggage and equipment.

The Hurricanes went on to win the match with a late try.

鈥淲e knew right from the beginning it was going to be a pretty interesting trip,鈥 coach Glen Jackson said after the loss. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we got all the favours when landing.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have a bus ready, unfortunately, and then even when we got to the hotel in Napier, we didn鈥檛 have a room ready. So there were plenty of things that went against us.鈥

The situation led to a number of Fijian rugby stars voicing their concern around the situation, including Nemani Nadolo, who claimed double standards for teams.

鈥淗ow is this even happening? What frustrates me the most is that after a long flight, the team arrives at the airport only to find that their bus is nowhere to be seen. Instead of waiting another three hours for it to arrive, the boys jump in the back of a truck to get to the hotel,鈥 Nadolo said in a Facebook post.

鈥淓very time a Super Rugby franchise visits Fiji, they鈥檙e treated like royalty, with police escorts and top-tier hospitality. Can you imagine an Australian or New Zealand team ever being put through something like this?鈥

The Drua host the Chiefs in Lautoka tomorrow.

Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you