President looks for progress on Fiji rugby tour

SUVA (AFP) –

This file photo shows Fiji players reacting after a lost match during the 2011 Worl Cup, in Hamilton, last October. Fiji President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau on Wednesday urged the team to use its Northern Hemisphere tour to make amends for the disappointment of last year’s World Cup.

Fiji’s President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau on Wednesday urged the national rugby team to use its Northern Hemisphere tour to make amends for the disappointment of last year’s World Cup.

At an official farewell for the Flying Fijians at Government House in Suva, Nailatikau said the South Pacific nation expected a much-improved performance after the 2011 World Cup, when Fiji were knocked out in the group stages.

He said the tour, which features Tests against England and Georgia, was a chance to restore the team’s battered pride.

“Forget about the setbacks of the past and concentrate on giving all the best. If you do surely you can do Fiji proud,” he said.

The touring squad departs Fiji on Friday.