Daily Times

DUNEDIN: Plans for Fiji’s rugby team to wear a pro-vaccination message on their jerseys during Saturday’s Test against New Zealand were scuttled by player opposition, coach Vern Cotter revealed after the match. The Fiji Rugby Union announced on the eve of the Test in Dunedin that the jerseys would be emblazoned with “Vaccinate Fiji” as the Pacific island nation battles to contain a Covid-19 outbreak. Anti-vaccination sentiment is widespread in Fiji, where Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has warned he will make the coronavirus jab compulsory for all workers under a “no jabs, no job” policy. Cotter said vaccinations were a “delicate subject for some” in the team, and the decision to replace the sponsors’ name with a pro-inoculation message was made without much consultation. “So it was probably better to have a clean jersey at this stage and spend some time on how best we want to communicate on this matter,” Cotter said after his side suffered 57-23 loss to the All Blacks.