THE Fiji Rugby Union has announced its Annual Gen-eral Meeting for April 24.
Under the current constitution affiliates have 28 days prior to the meeting to lodge any items or resolutions they want considered and voted upon at the AGM.
It is hoped that at least two of the affiliates have the courage and common sense to move and second a motion of 'no confidence' in the current board and Chief Executive Officer.
This may seem a harsh statement coming from outside the game but over the past six months a solid case has been put for the removal of those who wantonly disregard the basics of reasonable administration while putting their own benefit before that of the players and the rugby public.
Enough questions have been put and enough information provided to demonstrate that the current board (minus Rafa and Teleni, who were conveniently brought in after the plot was set) and CEO are no longer worthy of the support of either the affiliates or the general public.
Rugby is our national sport. Rugby unites us in common goals. Rugby nourishes us as a nation and as individuals.
And yet, despite the importance of rugby to us we seem prepared to tolerate aimless leadership and poor administration of this most important aspect of our culture.
In the past 12 months we have witnessed a series of disgraceful board and management decisions that blatantly contravened even the most basic governance principles and in most cases went against the very policies supposedly in place to protect against such actions.
Maybe a few questions will tickle those memory cells. Do you remember prior to last year's AGM when a former politician brought in the SDL political machinery to bring people into the Board? These board members including the top brass did not even conceal they political affiliation.
I just hope this time those delegates who are supposed to represent their unions will not be lured off with a couple of bottles of Whiskey they can enjoy at the old boys club house.
What value do those Board members place in the position of CEO? The clear answer is - not much.
There were a number of professional individuals who applied for the position and two were shortlisted. One was to be appointed but due process was not followed.
The CEO position at FRU is charged with the appropriate management of what are effectively public funds. There is a demand that any person holding such a position be beyond reproach.
The chairman endorsing the appointment despite knowing that a conflict of interest existed says a lot about FRU's management style. Keni does not pass the test as a result of the resigning of the 7s sponsor without proper process being followed.
Regrettably for the fans, players and stakeholders of Fiji Rugby the duo's political aspiration has affected their ability to effectively and constructively discharge their duties as FRU Chair and CEO respectively.
Even the selection of Samu Domoni as Flying Fijians coach designate was not transparent and there is a big question mark on his competency to coach a National team.
These abominable decisions are well known by all rugby enthusiasts and will not be revisited at this time.
As a result our international game is a shambles; our Island Zone and B Division face at least another three years of little or no support (perhaps we can give them half a dozen rugby balls to keep them happy) and our junior rugby might as well not exist.
If it were not for the volunteers in this rugby crazy country we simply wouldn't have a national sport.
Suffice to say: enough is enough. There comes a time when decency, courage and common sense must prevail and this is such a time.
The current administration has led us into a rugby wasteland where there is a lack of any proper planning or nourishment. Fiji Rugby is administratively and financially in a struggle.
We have already discussed the realities of our expectations at RWC11 so we won't dwell on this.
We have also reviewed the results of our Junior World Cup which can only be described as a deep concern in relation to our continued position as a top ten rugby nation.
Former Australian international, Elton Flatley had some good advice for our rugby administrators when he delivered his address at the Fiji Sports Awards two Saturdays ago in Suva.
Basically the message was clear: get to work on your juniors or suffer the consequences.
But the work with our juniors is left to the secondary school system. Like every other area of our rugby development they are under-resourced to do the job. Simple as that.
So what about our national senior results and those of the countries pressing our position in the top 10?
Do we have a realistic chance to move up from number nine to No:eight. A quick look at the rankings indicates that we do not.
Positioned almost three points above us in the number eight spot is Wales. Under the points system we would need to beat Wales on both this years' northern tour and again at RWC11 to move above them in the rankings.
This seems a forlorn hope given results over the past couple of years and the lack of planning we endure. The team above Wales in seventh spot is Argentina and they are almost five points ahead of Fiji.
This is simply "a bridge too far".
So realistically we should and must start trying to defend what we already have and if we can do this successfully over the next 12 months we might then look towards the future with some confidence built on results and the added confidence which flows from achieving our goals
The teams immediately below us in the rankings are Scotland and Italy respectively. On the most recent table Scotland is just 1.4 points below us and Italy 1.7 points.
Samoa is almost 3.9 points behind Fiji and in 12th position.
They could not realistically challenge us without defeating us in an IRB sanctioned test match as well as at RWC11.
But we should not discount this as a possibility and should plan accordingly.
On last year's northern tour we were soundly beaten 23 - 10 by Scotland It doesn't appear that Scotland has gotten any worse since they played us so it may be safe to assume the Nick Mallett coached Italians are very much on the improve after defeating Scotland on the weekend.
This presents a danger to our position and again requires us to do the planning necessary to ensure we can execute when the time comes.
And if we look a little further down the rankings we can see other challengers who are clearly doing the planning and reaping the results.
Exactly one year ago Japan was ranked sixteenth in the world and a full seven points adrift from Fiji.
As of today, just one year later, Japan has moved to 13th and just five points behind us.
There are many good Fijian players earning a good living from playing rugby in Japan so it is clear Japan Rugby Union have the planning and the financial resources to both grow the game and improve their results.
Anyone who witnessed our last gasp win over Japan in last year's Pacific Nations Cup series knows that if we continue with our lack of proper planning it is only a matter of time before they start eating away at our ranking points by beating us at our own national game.
Scotland and Italy are at out throats. Samoa and Japan must be overcome to avoid losing valuable ranking points thereby making the job so much easier for teams ranked immediately below us.
At stake here is not just our ranking. Any fall further down the international rankings will almost certainly affect our claim for increased financial assistance from the IRB.
A perceived weakening in our international brand will also affect our ability to attract a long term sponsor for our fifteens team.
Our position is precarious. It's too late to start whining once the axe falls. It is too late, as can be our custom, to explain that we'll do better next time when we didn't do better in the first place.
The planning has to start now and it has to start at the affiliate level as our current administrators don't seem capable or interested in doing the job.