August 29 - Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) chairman Lieutenant Colonel Mosese Tikoitoga has been banned from attending the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand after officials in Wellington refused to give him a visa to enter the country.

The competition is due to get underway on September 9 and the Fiji team have already arrived in New Zealand ahead of the competition but Tikoitoga, who is commander of the Fiji military's land forces, was not allowed to travel with the squad.

New Zealand has barred Fijian soldiers from entering the country since the military seized control of the Government in a 2006 coup, saying it wants democracy restored in the Pacific nation.

New Zealand have previously led calls for Fiji to be suspended from the Commonwealth, a move that prevented the country from competing in last year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi last year.

Murray McCully, New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for the Rugby World Cup, said Tikoitoga's application to accompany the national side during the tournament was received last week and immediately refused.

"The sanctions are there for a reason and banned means banned," said McCully.

The ban prevents members of the self-appointed Government, their families, and military members from travelling to New Zealand although Fijian lock Leone Nakarawa was exempted from the sanctions earlier this month to attend the tournament after he resigned from the military.

Tikoitoga was appointed head of the FRU in May after the Government claimed that they had lost faith in the previous regime.

Tikoitoga went to Nadi Airport to wish the Fiji team well ahead of their flight to New Zealand and joked that he was "still waiting to hear about his own visa" but there will be no chance of him now attending the event, like two other members of the delegation who refused to resign from the military.

"These are people who are not parting company with any military regime," added McCully.

"They're just people who want to come and see the rugby matches and we're not yielding on the sanctions in that respect."

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

By Tom Degun