FIJI Rugby Union (FRU) wants to maintain players between the 18-23 age groups to further develop the sport in the country.
National coaching director, Frank Boivert said it was an area of weakness identified by his coaching panel.
"We lose lot of players in that age category and this is a weakness in our development pathway," Boivert said. "Potential players were left out in between the phase of secondary and university level and there is a need to develop such strategic plans." Boivert said they were discussing plans to set up a Regional High Performance Unit at the University of the South Pacific.
He said a regional HPU at USP would assist not only the locals but also boost the rugby in the Pacific Islands. "We have identified that as one of our major projects but everything will depend on the outcome of our strategic workshop."
The national under 20 coach Sale Sorovaki also agreed that a HPU will boost the sport in the country.
He said if the regional HPU eventuated then it would be a very important asset to the players.
He said USP was a regional institution and setting up an HPU there would be easy to include the region as the structure was already there.
"Having a regional HPU will give players a chance to upskill their talents which would assist them to be more marketable," Sorovaki said. "It will be an opportunity for the players to learn in a high performance environment."
FRU's two-day strategic planning workshop finished at FASANOC House in Suva yesterday.