Fiji’s Minister for Education, Aseri Radrodro, has directed the Fiji Secondary School Rugby Union (FSSRU) to restore the Bucalevu Secondary School Under-17 team to the Vodafone Deans national quarter-finals scheduled for this weekend. Bucalevu, a school based in Taveuni, faced disqualification after Nabua Secondary School filed an official complaint within 48 hours of losing to Bucalevu in a playoff match at Subrail Park, Labasa on July 27.
Bucalevu had narrowly defeated Nabua 21-20 to secure their place in the quarter-finals. The FSSRU disqualified Bucalevu this week due to accusations that a player from their Under-16 team also participated in the winning Under-17 team. Following this ruling, Nabua Secondary School was set to compete against Ratu Kadavulevu School at 11am this Saturday.
Mahatma Gandhi Memorial School, the defending champions in the Under-17 category, will not be competing this year as they failed to qualify. The FSSRU Terms of Participation stipulate that players cannot represent two different teams from the same school in the Vodafone FSSRU Super Deans Championship during the same season.
While team managers are responsible for submitting players’ information, FSSRU officials are expected to verify these records before matches to catch any discrepancies. The players’ details, along with their passport photos, are collected at the beginning of the season for this purpose.
Minister Radrodro reaffirmed that Bucalevu rightfully won their match and deserves to continue in the competition. He stated on social media that he has instructed the Permanent Secretary to inform FSSRU officials that they must honor the outcome of the match.
FSSRU president Jone Kanalagi was contacted for comments but indicated he was in a meeting with the Permanent Secretary and would respond later. However, further attempts to reach him were unsuccessful. The Permanent Secretary, Selina Kuruleca, declined to comment when approached.