The Fiji Rugby Union has rejected a claim by former sevens coach Ben Ryan about the cost of their World Series tournament bid.
In a lengthy post on his public Facebook page, Ben Ryan said he was not prepared to back the bid and had serious doubts about the viability of a regular tournament being held in the country.
He argued a budget of one million Fijian dollars just to put together the bid was "hugely excessive and a massive waste of money."
Former Fiji sevens coach Ben Ryan. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
But the FRU said in a statement the figures quoted by Ben Ryan "have been greatly exaggerated and are not factual."
"The FRU notes his opinion and was fully aware of his views since we had sought his support for the bid in August 2017 which he declined prior to the FRU making the decision to proceed on with our bid."
Samoa impressed but Fiji strugged at the Paris Sevens. Photo: World Rugby / Martin Seras Lima
The Union said it will do all it can to bring home a leg of the World Sevens Series and prove it can run a global event successfully.
"The figures quoted by Ben in terms of the cost of the bid have been greatly exaggerated and are not factual.
"In addition to this, all costs associated with the promotion of the bid on local television and radio stations have been met by those stations at no cost to the FRU in support of our bid."