Player welfare and safety are paramount in any sport which is why the Ba Rugby Union has teamed up with Aspen Medical. The healthcare company which manages Ba and Lautoka hospitals signed a key agreement today to lift the standard of medical services and player welfare for rugby competitions in Ba from the club games through to the Skipper Cup level. BRU secretary Gaby Kautoga says their constitution requires that all clubs have a medical officer who is, or is planning to be, FAIR or First Aid In Rugby trained. However, he says that is at a low level compared with the professional medical staff provided by Aspen Medical. He says as rugby is a contact sport, there should be an ICIR or Immediate Care in Rugby qualified doctor or nurse on hand for every rugby game. Kautoga adds those are the directions from World Rugby, so Aspen Medical’s involvement with Ba Rugby is probably a first for this level of medical provision at a provincial rugby union in Fiji. Aspen Medical’s chief executive in Fiji, Gavin Whiteside said they pride itself on working closely with the communities within which they operate. Whiteside says many of their Ba Hospital team come from the local community and support Ba rugby, they are delighted to be creating a personal connection outside of hospital operations by being on hand in the event of a medical incident at Ba Rugby Union.” The BRU club games will kick off on March 8th at Vinod Patel Park with about 36 clubs from around the province expected to participate.