Sam Matavesi has demanded “serious change” from the Fijian Rugby Union after players threatened to boycott the Rugby World Cup quarter-final against England.

The experienced hooker has still made himself available for selection for the national team ahead of the Autumn Nations Series but joined the calls for change.

This comes after Fiji’s captain at the tournament, Waisea Nayacalevu, revealed that the World Cup quarter-final match against England almost didn’t happen as the players threatened to strike over unpaid bonuses and corruption.

World Cup strike threat

“There’s corruption in the Fiji rugby house. We weren’t going to play the match against England, we were going to walk out. They promised us things and we didn’t get it. We were promised a bonus,” Nayacalevu told the Daily Mail.

“We were staying in Marseille and I organised a presentation, a Zoom call, I organised everything, to talk about what they had promised us. We gave them a date and said, ‘If you don’t pay by this day, nobody is going to play this quarter-final’.”

Since Nayacalevu revealed that there was a threat of a strike, his teammate Levani Botia has backed up his claims and said he and senior players in the team had to keep pushing players to focus on the games and not worry about their pay.

“We kept pushing the players to play because this is something we talk about is that we have to play and not worry about the money, they (FRU) will do their job and we trusted them to do their job so some of the boys did not receive their payment and some of the boys do not have their bonus,” he told FBC Sports.

It also reported that Nayacalevu is willing to provide evidence of corruption in the Fijian Rugby Union.

Matavesi’s call

Meanwhile, Matavesi has joined the calls for change after what he described as a ‘crazy matter’ during the tournament.

It was the first time since 2007 that Fiji had reached the knockout stages of the World Cup and the off-field chaos distracted from their pursuit to knock over England once again – having done so in the build-up to the tournament at Twickenham.

“It’s a crazy matter,” Matavesi told AFP.

“Going forward I think there needs to be serious change on the Fiji rugby board.

“Everyone needs to be pulling in the right direction.

“If you want to see Fiji in more World Cup quarter-finals and the top eight or six of the world rankings then there needs to be serious change.”

Fiji have four games coming up before the end of the year after a largely second-string team – without their European-based stars – won the Pacific Nations Cup.

They will face Scotland, Wales, Spain and Ireland with the clash at Murrayfield scheduled outside of the official World Rugby international window.

He and Lyon teammate Semi Radradra will be unavailable for the match against Scotland but, despite the issues with the Fiji board, he and the centre have made themselves available to the Flying Fijians.

“We’re both available, if the game’s in the window, we’re free to play, the next thing is just getting picked,” he added.

In the meantime, Matavesi’s focus will be on the upcoming Top 14 clash against La Rochelle with Lyon starting the new season by winning three of their opening four matches.