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Fiji Live/ Pacnews
Fri, 22 Aug 2008
ALOFI, NIUE ---- Pacific Island leaders, including the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand, have supported the inclusion of Pacific island teams in expanded SANZAR Rugby Union Tournaments, reports Fiji Live.
The 15 leaders made the resolution at the Forum leaders’ meeting in Niue yesterday with the hope of raising the profile of Pacific island players.
The leaders also supported the inclusion of rugby as an Olympic sport and agreed to encourage their national Olympic committees to support this objective within the deliberations of the International Olympic Committee.
The Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) have in recent years unsuccessfully lobbied for the inclusion of Pacific Island rugby teams in an expanded Super 14 rugby tournament that currently involves teams from rugby powerhouses Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. PIRA will field a team to tour the northern hemisphere at the end of the year.
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