TALKS have begun to teach rugby formally in classrooms from next year.
Minister for Youth and Sports Commander Viliame Naupoto said: "I go along with the idea that rugby should be taught formally in schools."
Naupoto said it was not only one ministry's responsibility and recent rugby injuries among schoolchildren was a problem that should be solved collectively.
His comments came after the death of Jovilisi Qoroya of Ratu Sukuna Memorial School, who sustained spinal injury during rugby training.
"I had a quick discussion with the FRU (Fiji Rugby Union) chief executive officer and he was saying one of the best approaches was to teach rugby formally in schools," Naupoto said.
He said they would get all stakeholders together sometime next week and discuss possible solutions.
The minister said secondary school players did not have enough knowledge about the sport which contributed to injuries and they "jump into sports quickly".
"This (rugby injuries) is something that we can avoid," he said.
"People who will teach rugby will be qualified and it will be optional to those who want to learn about rugby."
He said if they banned rugby at school level then they would be running away from the problem because some players who came through the school have put Fiji on the map.
"Hopefully by next week we will try to get people together."
He said the Qoroya's death was "a sad story".
Maika Sagatanaivalu, vice president of eastern schools zone rugby and International Rugby Board educator is the man behind the idea of involving rugby in classrooms.
Sagatanaivalu said the skill level of players, their fitness and the post-injury knowledge were key factors in decreasing rugby injuries.
"Rugby is a contact sport and even professional players get injuries but how we can minimise it depends on the three factors (skill level, fitness and post-injury knowledge)," he said.
Sagatanaivalu said: "Some injuries may not be that bad but how we deal with post-injury makes it worse."
He said they did not have enough time to teach basic rugby skills to players at secondary school level.
"Rugby is a highly physical sport but if basic skills are taught in classrooms, I think, it will certainly minimise the rugby injuries," Sagatanaivalu said.
Fiji Rugby Union chief executive officer responded an email sent to him yesterday saying: "Unfortunately, at this stage nothing has been formalised with the relevant government ministries, so I'm unable to answer your questions."