... Fiji will play in Australia's National Rugby Championship next year in a historic development for the talent-rich Pacific Island nation.
Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama flew into Sydney on Thursday and will link up with Australian Rugby Union boss Bill Tito make the announcement at ARU headquarters on Friday.
The plan will see World Rugby fund the team to join the NRC from next season. It is a major coup for the ARU who, along with New Zealand, are often criticised for drawing players from the Pacific Islands but not giving much back in return.
The All Blacks played a Test match against Manu Samoa in Apia last year, but inviting a team to join a domestic competition on an ongoing basis has the potential to do much more for a country such as Fiji, which has long been at the mercy of the lucrative rugby markets in Europe and closer to home.
The announcement has been some months in the making, after Fiji coach John McKee approached the ARU's high performance manager Ben Whitaker, to discuss a way to improve the island nation's development pathway. World Rugby high performance general manager Peter Horne was also closely involved, as the global rugby body is the main source of funding for rugby in the Oceania region.
In a pre-cursor to the big move, a handful of Fijian players joined the NRC this year, including sevens Olympic gold medallist Vatemo Ravouvou and Fiji Warriors star Cyril Reece.
It is also likely that Fiji have aspirations to join Super Rugby, although no firm timeline or proposal is in place for such a plan, with the future structure of Super Rugby yet to be determined.
Argentina's Pampas played in South Africa's equivalent domestic competition for three seasons before joining the Pacific Rugby Cup, where they played alongside teams from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Japan and Australian Super Rugby academies. are firmly established precedents.
This season Argentina's Jaguares joined Super Rugby.
Of all the rugby-playing Pacific Island nations, Fiji is the most natural fit for the NRC, given the large Fijian populations in Sydney and on Brisbane's outskirts.
