Fiji Rugby Union acting chief executive Koli Sewabu said Australia’s rugby league investment posed several threats to rugby union in the Pacific, including by draining talent and undermining domestic competitions and international performance. “With the NRL’s approach, unfortunately it will disrupt and weaken our base as players and officials may choose to shift where the dollar blings. This is a threat to our pursuit of excellence not only in the XVs code and our Olympic 7s program, but also in our World Cup competitiveness, and even to our Drua which relies on local talent,” Sewabu said ahead of Fiji’s men’s rugby Test against Australia in Newcastle on Sunday, a match the Fijian leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, will attend with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. “Some Pacific nations may see this as Australia using league (which is not common to many) to increase soft power, overshadowing rugby union’s deep cultural roots.” “Isn’t it fair to diversify this investment for the benefit of all sports, and allow nations to be consulted and given the decision which sport they need to invest in, and how this benefits not only the sport but our country as a whole?” The Australian government provides about $1 million a year to the Fijian Drua men’s and women’s teams that compete in the Super Rugby competitions and has a $14.2 million, four-year partnership with Rugby Australia to support high-performance rugby across the Pacific. Its PacificAus Sports program also provided $18.1 million for elite sports including rugby union in the past year and its Team Up program delivered $9.45 million for grassroots sports development including in rugby.