The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been instrumental in developing sports as one of its foreign policy tools in the Pacific. This article will look at the how it has accelerated the development of rugby in Fiji through its Drua men’s and women’s rugby teams over the 2023 season improving performance on the field and having a positive social and economic impact on the economy.
PacificAus Sports
The Australian Government, through DFAT, helped set up PacificAus Sports to create opportunities for athletes, coaches, and administrators in the Pacific. Covering four different sports codes: rugby union, netball, rugby league and football, this program has allocated funding and expertise for teams in domestic and regional competitions to elevate sports development in Pacific countries and increase the exposure and experience of Australian players through dynamic competition.
In Fiji, the greatest impact has been through the Drua men’s and women’s teams, which compete in the Super Rugby and Super W competitions. In its initial agreement from 2019-2022, the PacificAus Sports program provided AU$52 million in funding that contributed to building facilities in Fiji and sustaining the financial pool to pay professional coaches, players and administrators. PacificAus Sports has renewed its commitment to an additional four years. This will continue to elevate rugby as a local professional career option in Fiji and the Pacific.
The return on investment for PacificAus Sports? In the first three years, the women’s team reached the finals all three times, scooping two out of a possible three, while the men’s team reached the top eight twice. This has also translated to the men’s 15s national team, with the Drua team members making almost half of the 2023 Rugby World Cup squad and around 7-9 players getting regular game time. The World Cup campaign ended with a six-point quarter-final loss to the Englishmen. Not all rugby experts and analysts expected Fiji to reach the top 8 playoffs, having been pooled against tier-1 powerhouses and well-resourced Australia and Wales. After a close encounter with Wales in the first pool match, Fiji created a major upset, toppling the Australian Wallabies – itself with 7 Fijian players, in their second pool match, almost surely securing their place among the elite. In a classic laid-back Fijian fashion, they nearly fumbled out of the competition with a close victory against Georgia and a one-point loss against Portugal. It proves that every match in the World Cup is important, and there is no lack of effort from all teams, no matter where they are ranked.
As we end the mid-year Internationals, let’s take a step back to highlight the social and economic impact and acknowledge an important stakeholder that has made this experience for every Fijian rugby fan a scintillating spectacle – most notably the upset of the Australian Wallabies led by head coach Eddie Jones.
Social impact
Team sports have been known to be the great unifier of countries, bringing them together to pursue a common goal. History has also proven that celebrating winning (and mourning losses) is an emotion shared by fans regardless of race, ethnicity, political affiliations/views, income, employment, and social status. Within a brief period of a sporting event, in a world that appears more divided, team sport provides a unique space for competition in probably the most equitable form, which is why it is one of the better forms of entertainment. For example, sports helped unify South Africa in 1995 at the Rugby World Cup in the wake of abolishing apartheid, helped Fiji recover from a devastating tropical cyclone Winston in 2016 with a Rugby Sevens Tournament win in Las Vegas, aided Argentinians as they celebrated the Football World Cup win in 2022 amid an economic crisis. No matter the circumstances, people generally rally behind their sports teams for better or worse.
On women empowerment, PacificAus Sports has accelerated the development of women’s rugby through the Fijiana Drua and at the secondary school level. Young girls usually participate in netball (7-a-side), basketball (5-a-side) and athletics, forming smaller squads because of the nature of these games. With 15-a-side rugby, teams form squads of more than 30, encouraging more participation among girls. Coupled with the performance of the Fijiana Drua winning the Super W competition twice, the introduction of professional rugby contracts, and regular overseas travels, rugby has now become a pathway for young women as much as it has been for young men. In his visit to Australia in 2023, the Prime Minister of Fiji, the Honourable Sitiveni Rabuka, said:
“Through this program and your support, our young people now have the opportunity to dare to dream and dream without the boundaries of Fiji limiting them to local competitions.”
Economic impact
A study undertaken by Market Development Facility and Tourism Fiji uncovered that Sports Tourism made possible through PacificAus Sports, has the potential to diversify arrivals and increase tourism and domestic activity in the non-peak months. The six games hosted by the Fijian Drua in 2023 generated gross expenditure estimated at AU$44 million, of which AU$30 million was through overseas spectators and participants. The events welcomed 4,676 visitors and created 40,328 visitor nights, amounting to around AU$12 million. The eye test pointed towards bigger gatherings in the seven games hosted by the Fijian Drua in 2024, so these numbers would have been better.
In addition, all the players in the men’s and women’s teams are now on contracts. They earn salaries during the season, ranging from around AU$16,000 – to AU$120,000 depending on experience and national representation, which is quite standard across rugby contracts. This is significant given that most of these players depend on rugby for their livelihood and would only earn a tiny fraction of these amounts in local competitions. Players now actively engage in investment opportunities through real estate, entrepreneurship, and managed investment schemes.
The two major Fiji cities that host local fixtures are a buzz during game week. This increases economic activity in related sectors like transport, wholesale and retail, restaurants and entertainment. It is definitely an area of future research to assess the economic impact on the local economy over the last three years.
Thank you, Australia!
While the credit on performance deservedly should go to the players, coaches, administration and support staff of Fiji Rugby, the Fiji Government, corporate sponsors and the Fiji fans, this article would like to highlight that a boatload also needs to go towards the PacificAus Sports Program, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Government and the Australian people. I am glad that the Fijian Prime Minister, the Honourable Sitiveni Rabuka, has reemphasised the same in his visit to Australia in 2023 and has also gladly received an additional four-year commitment and support from the Honourable Pat Conroy, Australia’s Minister for Defence Industry, International Development and the Pacific. The Minister added that Australia understands the power of sports and acknowledges that there is real exchange and learning under this program for both countries, creating pathways through sports that can be catalysts for positive social and economic outcomes.
Lessons and insights
For Australia, this has proved to be a powerful political tool to gain the support of the Pacific, and a similar project is now being undertaken with Papua New Guinea in its bid to field a team for the National Rugby League. One can argue that this can help combat China’s influence in PNG and the Pacific.
For Fiji, the next phase has the potential to be much more significant, and Fiji Rugby and sports administrators in the Pacific need to ensure that the momentum is not lost through common stumbling blocks that history reminds us of, such as poor governance, lack of transparency, communication, strategy, and inefficiencies. In turn, maybe the Fijian passion and way of rugby can help revive interest in rugby union competition here in Australia as preparation builds for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Lessons and insights are to be gained by both sides with the continuation of sports diplomacy, as quoted under the PacificAus Sports program,
“Geography made us neighbours, but it is sport that brings our people together. We have watched and cheered our shared sporting heroes, celebrated each other’s success and commiserated our losses together. Our hearts beat as one, drawing strength from our sporting memories, competition, and rivalry.”
Sakiusa Nabou, Research Assistant, Griffith Asia Institute, former Senior Analyst, Reserve Bank of Fiji.The views expressed in this article are that of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the above-mentioned institution. For more information about Pacific island economies, visit Pacific Island Centre for Development and Policy Research.
