SMH, Saturday 27 Jan: Ben Ryan has defended his recent comments that have caused a stir in Fiji. He suggested Fiji should not waste their money trying to bring a World Series leg to their country.
Ryan wrote a lengthy FaceBook post explaining why he thought the Fiji Rugby Union, which has very close ties to the government, should not spend $FJD1 million ($617,555) on overseas consultant fees when there are more important issues at hand. Read Ben Ryan’s comments on FaceBook
“I’m going to get myself into trouble sometimes because I stand up for the causes I think are important,” Ryan said. “If I see that there are people who are living in tents still after Cyclone Winston and they’re spending a million dollars on two overseas consultants … they are effectively wasting their money to put a bid together. “It probably means I’m the No.1 hated man at the FRU and probably that moves into government. I don’t really care. You’ve got to be authentic. They’ve got to put players first instead of last and that’s what they’ve been doing since I left.” Read in SMH
