Fiji top referees Tevita Rokovereni and Lavenia Racaca will be considered for full-time contracts when they return from the HSBC SVNS Series from Canada This was revealed by Fiji Rugby Union High Performance referees manager James Bolabiu who has been running the programme the past 10 months. The contract is an offer form Fiji Rugby to employ them full time which would be the first for the duo in their refereeing career. “Part of my role is to make that happen because the demand for their time, they also referee their training sessions and warm-up matches. That is the reason we’re considering employing them,” Bolabiu said. Yesterday Rokovereni created history to be the second Fijian referee to officiate in a sevens series Cup final. He took charge of the final between South Africa and Argentina at BC Place in Vancouver. Bolabiu said this was a milestone achievement for Rokovereni and the profession. Bolabiu was the last Fijian referee to do that at the 2009 Hong Kong Sevens final. Sixteen years later, Rokovereni achieved the same after eight years of being a referee. Bolabiu said reaching that far reflected Rokovereni’s commitment and hard work. “Rokovereni had previously officiated in the quarterfinals and below and with the set-up of this programme he was able to make it to the final. “Our goal is to produce good referees, not only to referee the final but to be good referees out there so they can service the game well,” he said. He added they aim to provide good quality performance to stakeholders of rugby in the country and have their referees officiate at the highest level they can. About 30 referees are part of their development programme, with 40 per cent females. Another significant achievement of the programme was sending six referees to the Oceania 7s in Solomon Islands which was the biggest number from any Pacific Islands country. The six included two female referees. Bolabiu acknowledged FRU and the Fiji Rugby Referees Association for their support and contribution to the success of their programme. Feedback: sereana.salalo@fijisun.com.fj