Fiji PM backs interim coach Seruvakula after heavy losses to Wales and England

Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has publicly backed interim Flying Fijians head coach Senirusi Seruvakula after back-to-back Test defeats to Wales and England left the team’s Nations Championship campaign in early crisis.

Seruvakula was appointed after former head coach Mick Byrne departed, and Rabuka — himself a former Flying Fijians player — told Fiji media he had always favoured a local appointment. “I have always supported having a local coach who understands the nature and psyche of Fijian players,” he said. “Two Test matches are not enough to judge whether the appointment has been successful.”

The losses have been difficult to absorb. Fiji fell 39-24 to Wales before suffering a 73-8 hammering at the hands of England at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool last weekend. Rabuka acknowledged the scale of the setbacks but pointed to missed chances rather than a fundamental failing in the coaching setup. “There were too many missed opportunities in both matches. I hope those lessons will form part of the team’s preparations going forward,” he said.

Despite the scoreline, the prime minister urged patience, noting that Fiji have reached Rugby World Cup quarter-finals under local coaches before — Ratu Josateki Sovau in 1987, Ilivasi Tabua in 2007, and Simon Raiwalui as recently as 2023. “We should give the process time,” Rabuka said. “Let’s see whether the argument that a local coach better understands the players, and the players better understand the coach, proves correct.”

Off the field, the England fixture did deliver one significant benefit. Fiji Rugby Union board chairman John Sanday confirmed that revenue generated by the 50,000-strong crowd in Liverpool will fund the first payment on land acquisition for a new state-of-the-art stadium in Saweni, Lautoka. “The surplus from the England game will pay for the premium on the land we are acquiring at Saweni,” Sanday said. “We will share the revenue with our member unions to alleviate their financial struggles in the provincial competitions. We also plan to clear out all the existing debts of Fiji Rugby. So from that end, it has been a commercial and financial success.”

Fiji now travel to Murrayfield to face Scotland, with Seruvakula under pressure to arrest the slide and demonstrate that his appointment can still deliver results on the pitch.