Fiji's preparations for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup to be held in Australia have been rocked, with the news the Fainu brothers will be unable to participate. The trio were working towards having the appropriate eligibility documents sorted out by now, but despite an extension of the deadline, they have been unable to confirm their grandmother was born in Fiji. The IRL have not totally shut the door on them playing for Fiji, with a further extension to the timeline, but a lack of recorded documentation will likely prevent them from playing for the island nation. That leaves the IRL with no choice but to rule the trio as ineligible to compete for Fiji, per a News Corp report. The IRL has rigid eligibility criteria and have given them more time to provide credible documents to support their application.”