Outrage as convicted rapist trains with rugby team while serving sentence in Fiji
Fiji rugby is at the centre of another scandal with calls to suspend it from rugby following a revelation that a convicted rapist has been training in public while serving an eight-year sentence. Sevens star Amenoni Nasilasila participated in rugby training with the Prison Wardens team and local side Namosi at the Suva Grammar School grounds. Nasilasila was stood down from rugby in 2019 pending a court ruling after he had been charged with rape. He was was subsequently convicted and jailed for raping a 24-year-old woman in Olosara, Sigatoka in 2018. He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment with a non-parole period of six years in the High Court in Lautoka. He is appealing that in a case to be heard on July 27. READ MORE: * Bill Beaumont distances himself from controversial Fiji rugby official Francis Kean * Threat to rugby's Olympic status from Fiji fallout * Amnesty International praises Pacific Island players group for speaking out against Fiji's Francis Kean * Francis Kean scandal exposes urgent need for World Rugby to have fit-and-proper-person test * Fiji Rugby Union withdraws convicted killer Francis Kean's nomination for World Rugby committee * Pacific Island players' group lash World Rugby bid by Fiji RFU boss Francis Kean * Inquiry into convicted Fijian killer's bid for World Rugby executive seat The Prison Wardens team Nasilasila was seen training with falls under the jurisdiction of Fiji Corrections Service Commissioner Commander Francis Kean, who was stood down by the World Rugby Council after revelations that the convicted killer had made homophobic remarks about prisoners . Kean was convicted of manslaughter after killing a man in 2006 and served three months of an 18-month sentence after the assault. The revelations about Nasilasilas continued rugby involvement has seen The Sunday Times in Britain, which broke the Kean story, calling on World Rugby to again take action. Rugby correspondent Stephen Jones noted that Fijian rugby now has a high-performance academy for women, funded by World Rugby and under the managership of one of Fijis greatest, Simon Raiwalui which had got off to a stunning start. But that was no mired by this controversy. How many of those smiles have already gone from the faces of rugbys women and their sex in general? While we should admire World Rugbys initiative, there are clear grounds today for expelling Fiji from the sport at all levels and we unequivocally call upon World Rugby to do so, Jones wrote . Kean was questioned about Nasilasila and confirmed that nine inmates have played representative rugby while being incarcerated since 1984. Kean told the Fiji Sun there were many inmates involved in sports activities. The paper reported that past inmates have played rugby for Nadroga, Nadi and Namosi, with two inmates currently playing for the Wardens team and Namosi in the Skipper Cup. Four prisoners had participated in boxing from the 1990s to 2000s. They all had to be assessed as low risk to qualify for the programme. The Fiji Corrections Services Director of Rehabilitation Senior Superintendent Salote Panapasa, also defended Nasilasilas involvement. The Fiji Corrections Service knows what is best for Nasilasila, as we have professional psychologists and counsellors that have assessed him and similarly ensured that he completed the necessary rehabilitation treatment programmes to be eligible for such activities, Panapasa told The Fiji Times. Panapasa said that the criticism of the Nasilasila participation was disheartening and counterproductive. We do not condone the actions of Nasilasila however it is our duty at FCS to positively address his offending behaviour. Nasilasila has displayed the necessary progress expected of him since his incarceration.