Fiji and Samoa elected onto World Rugby Council ^Featured

The Pacific nations join Georgia, Romania and the United States on the expanded council and will take their place at the next annual meeting in May.

The Samoa Rugby Union already confirmed it had been awarded a seat last month after successfully passing the review of its constitution. Its seat will be held by the union's chair, Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi.

World Rugby Chair Bill Beaumont hailed the decision, recognising the enormous contribution the Pacific Islands made to the global game.

"This is an historic day for World Rugby and the Pacific Islands, and a reflection of the importance and success of the transformational governance reforms made by this organisation and the unions.

"We are delighted to be welcoming Fiji and Samoa to Council, two unions who have contributed so much to the game. The Pacific Islands are unique, immersed in rugby, and I know that the unions will bring excellent insights and make strong contributions on Council.

"This shows that the model is in place, the pathway is in place and the door is open to other unions who aspire to have a seat on Council. We encourage all unions to take inspiration from Fiji and Samoa, review their governance and strive to achieve the required criteria.

"World Rugby is committed to the sustainable growth of the sport set against a backdrop of strong governance, and we will continue to work with our unions to ensure that they have all the necessary support to achieve and maintain the necessary criteria."

Previously, Pacific Island nations only had a share of two of the 48 votes on the World Rugby Council.

Those two votes are held by Rugby Oceania, which represents 12 countries including New Zealand and Australia, who already have three individual votes each.

-RNZI