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Fiji aims for top four at 2011 RWC
Fiji Times - Saturday, December 01, 2007 6:00 AM
Fiji has set its aim of a top four finish at the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
Still riding high from its top eight finish at the 2007 RWC in France, the Fiji Rugby Union has moved ahead in forging plans for its next assault on the Webb Ellis Trophy.
The Flying Fijians stunned many rugby followers when they defeated Wales 38-34 to win a quarter-final berth before taking eventual winners South Africa to the wire.
Fiji rugby stakeholders concluded a two-day strategic meeting at the Holiday Inn in Suva yesterday to take stock of which direction to take in the next four years.
Members of the FRU board, Coach Ilivasi Tabua, outgoing manager Pio Bosco Tikoisuva, High Performance Unit Peter Murphy, International Rugby Board representative Will Glenwright and sponsors were part of the meeting.
The FRU also wants to retain their world champion status in the sevens rugby and win the Pacific Nations Cup competition which involves Samoa, Tonga, Japan, Australia A and NZ Maori.
"Given our successful campaign at the world cup and having achieved our objectives, I think it is important for us to know where we're heading to from here," FRU chief executive Ratu Timoci Tavanavanua said.
"In doing so, we've come up with a draft plan of what we want to achieve in the next four years and one of the objective is to try and make the top four by 2011.
"That is the ultimate goal but in moving forward, it is important that we win the Pacific Rugby Cup, the Pacific Nations Cup, the IRB Sevens World Series, the 2009 Sevens Rugby World Cup in Dubai.
"We're also looking at a good finish at the Junior World Cup in Wales next year."
The FRU hopes to make changes to its performance off the field to supplement its goals.
"To be able to achieve all this, we're looking at it from two dimensions - performance on the field and having a strong support structure," Tavanavanua said.
"We need look at our governance issues, administrative issues, rugby operations, tactical side like the High Performance Unit."
