Rauluni appointed head coach for Fijiana 15s and Fijian Drua Women’s team

Former Flying Fijians captain and halfback Mosese Rauluni is the new head coach of the Rooster Chicken Fijian Drua Women and Vodafone Fijiana 15s teams.

While making the announcement, Fiji Rugby Union and the Fijian Drua say Rauluni got the nod for the top job given his stellar record as part of the Super W and national squad coaching set ups.

They say he was the Queensland Reds Assistant Coach for the 2023 Super W season as well as an Assistant Coach of the Fijiana 15s during 2022 Rugby World Cup and the head coach for Brisbane’s Easts Rugby team in 2018.

Also joining the Drua Women and Fijiana team management is Selita Koroi, who is no stranger to the role given similar experiences previously with the national women’s 15s and 7s teams.

Fiji Rugby and the Drua have also announced the appointment of Akanisi Drasuna-Cakau as Personal Development Manager for both teams.

They say she has been part of the Fiji Rugby Union Get Into Rugby Plus programme, and has been the Operations Manager for Fiji Table Tennis Association.

Both Koroi’s and Drasuna-Cakau’s appointments underscore the priority placed on player welfare and personal growth and development.

Interim Chairman of the Fiji Rugby Board of Trustees Peter Mazey and Fijian Drua CEO Mark Evans welcomed the first set of appointments for the Drua Women and Vodafone Fijiana Teams under the new arrangement between the two organisations.

Mazey says these are key appointments for the management team responsible for the entire annual programme for our women’s 15s players.

He says Rauluni is no stranger to Fiji Rugby or to the players as he has been part of the system for quite some time for both the women’s and men’s national teams and came through the recruitment process with flying colours.

Mazey says they were impressed by his vision for the women’s programme.

Mazey says they are excited to take this first step towards a full-time professional programme for the elite women’s players.

He says they will start the year participating in Super W under the Drua and most are expected to transition to national duties, playing in various Tests and tournaments like the Oceania qualifiers.

The Interim Chair says under their relationship agreement with the Fijian Drua, the key staff and players will have a central contract with both entities to cover the entire playing year – offering professional career opportunities for our women for the first time ever.

Fijian Drua CEO Mark Evans says Rauluni and the Drua Women coaching staff will also get to work closely with the coaching staff of the men’s team, including head coach Mick Byrne so there will be a lot of sharing of expertise and resources, as they grow the women’s programme to compete with that of the best in the world.

He says they are are finalising other management appointments and are preparing for the new squad to assemble in Nadi at the end of this month.

Drua Head Coach, Mick Byrne says it is a first for the Drua to operate both men’s and women’s teams, and they will provide them with everything they need to make a historic run at a Super W title three-peat.

The Fijian Drua will kick off their 2024 Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific campaign against the Blues on February 24th in Auckland while the Fijian Drua Women’s side will take on the Reds Women’s side on the 17th of March at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane.