Months after sustaining a knee injury, a Fijian women’s national rugby team player is waiting for assistance to undergo surgery.
Fijiana XV and Fijian Drua women flyhalf Salanieta Kinita ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), one of rugby’s most serious injuries, while playing for the national team at the 2026 Oceania Women’s Rugby Championship in April.
But more than three months after her injury, Kinita, 24, is still wondering if the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) will assist her to get overseas for the much-needed treatment.
FRU chief executive Koli Sewabau told RNZ Pacific that “arrangements have already been made” to send Kinita to New Zealand for treatment.
The FRU was “awaiting for doctor’s availability to send her across as soon as we get the greenlight from NZ”, he added.
Meanwhile, the Pacific Rugby Players Association (PRP) confirmed to RNZ Pacific on Friday it is trying to get assistance after the player reached out to them.
“[Kinita] and her family have reached out to PRP for support and get clarity on her treatment,” chief executive Hale T Pole said.
“Our role is always to look out for players wellbeing. We are trying to get the FRU and others who can help or should be helping to come out and help.
“It is sad that while there is so much talk about developing and supporting women’s rugby yet we have a player here who needs help and that is not forthcoming.”
Kinita played for Fijiana against Samoa and Tonga in a three-match women’s series in Lautoka and Ba in April.
She left the field injured against the Manusina and medical examinations later confirmed that the Yasawa Island playmaker had suffered a the ACL rupture.
RNZ Pacific understands the issue is that FRU’s player insurance cover in Suva does not cover overseas treatment.
However, had she been injured playing for the Fijian Drua women, the player would have received the treatment as needed.
The Drua franchise’s insurance arrangements would reportedly have covered both surgery and the lengthy rehabilitation period that normally follows ACL reconstruction.
