'We need someone like him': Fiji Rugby backs Seruvakula to lead Flying Fijians

Interim Flying Fijians head coach Senirusi Seruvakula will be given all the support he needs to assist him and his coaching team to prepare for the inaugural 2026 Nations Championship.

Seruvakula has been given the role - for the second time in three years - after Mick Byrne stepped down from the position earlier this month.

Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) Board chairman and former Flying Fijian John Sanday told RNZ Pacific that Seruvakula deserves to be given all the help he needs, just like any other expatriate coach.

"It's his (Seruvakula's) moment now. We will provide him with all the resources and support he will need to ensure success," Sanday said.

Seruvakula is currently away on tour with the Fiji Under-20 side in Australia as part of their build up to the World Rugby Junior World Championship in Georgia.

Sanday said he will sit down with FRU High Performance Unit general manager Naca Cawanibuka and chief executive Koli Sewabu to discuss this.

"He will also fly to New Zealand to meet and sit down with Aaron Mauger and work on how we can best navigate the less than three months to our July home games, and discuss what other resources he will need to ensure success."

Sanday said the FRU's number one objective under its 10-year Strategic Plan is "high performance".

"What that means is winning consistently, and we always have that objective as our guiding light."

Proven record

Sanday said Seruvakula is a proven coach, who had already demonstrated his record across all levels of rugby in Fiji - starting from schools' rugby up to the national level.

It includes caching the Fijian Drua when they first started as a team in the Australian domestic competition, coaching the Fijiana women, the Fiji Warriors and as an assistant coach with the Flying Fijians in the past.

He was also interim head coach in 2024 following the departure of former coach Simon Raiwalui after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Sanday also confirmed that Seruvakula was one of the three shortlisted for the head coach position in 2024, alongside former Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer and Byrne.

Sanday revealed Meyer was strongly considered for the role, but the FRU was unable to meet some of his conditions and salary expectations.

It saw Byrne being appointed to the position and Seruvakula pushed out altogether, and he later joined the under-20s as head coach.

Sanday said it was right to appoint Seruvakula to replace Byrne as he was already part of the previous shortlist and the short turnaround time meant there was a need to have someone on the job straight away.

One of the biggest qualities that Seruvakula has is his no nonsense approach and strict disciplinarian-style, Sanday said.

"We need that in our Fijian teams, we need someone like him to keep pushing us and ensure that we are on the job. Otherwise we tend to slacken off."

Chance

Seruvakula is set to be interim coach until after the Nations Championships, when the FRU will make a decision on a permanent coach.

Sanday said Seruvakula, from Tailevu province, now has the chance to prove himself.

"While he is interim we will also advertise the position and give time for all interested parties to submit their applications," he said.

"If Senirusi achieves the target we have set for July, that is win two to three matches, it just might cement his claim to the position and and strengthen his prospects for continuing as a full time head coach after July."

Sanday said that the new blueprint for the Flying Fijians focuses on strengthening the Fijian flair of rugby with structured set pieces, leading to a winning combination.

"We want a winning Flying Fijian, not a one-off type winner but a consistent winner. We are also pivoting our game to get back to our Fijian flair of open rugby but based on superior conditioning, a systematic and well thought out open game style of play and competitive in the set pieces.

"We have made that very clear to Senirusi."

Fiji's biggest provincial rugby union, Suva, has supported Seruvakula's appointment and calling on all Fijians to support the new appointment.

Chairman Maritino Nemani told local media last week that the FRU should appoint Seruvaula head coach, and not just acting or interim coach.

Suva Rugby Union said the FRU has already appointed Seruvakula to act and understudy in the position several times - and eligible locals like Seruvakula should not be treated as "caretakers" or "acting" for overseas coaches every time the national body runs into trouble.

Nemani said Seruvakula should be given the same resources and support given to foreign coaches who coached the Flying Fijians in the past.

"We have seen this work before in 1987 with Josateki Sovau and George Simpkin and in 2007 with Ilivasi Tabua supported by Shannon Fraser and Greg Mumm."

"In both cases Fiji reached the quarterfinals and in 2023 Seruvakula was assistant coach to Simon Raiwalui when Fiji also reached the quarterfinals. Those are the three times in history that Fiji has reached the World Cup quarterfinals."

Seruvakula was understudy to two former national coaches in John McKee and Vern Cotter.

Byrne still in

On Byrne's withdrawal from the team coaching position, Sanday said it was a mutual agreement, with a lot of factors reviewed.

While the on the field success rate was one, in line with the strategy and review done, it was Byrne's health that was a major factor.

"This is not about pushing Mick out and paying back by replacing him with Senirusi, no never," he said.

"It was cordial and honest...nothing personal at all. It's business.

"We are pivoting our game style and the journey to start to get back to our Fijian flair."

He revealed said the FRU wants to keep Byrne involved in their system, especially with his many years of experience.

"We still want to keep him engaged in providing training and specialist expertise to provincial and club coaches plus also kicking g skills to players at all level from primary school up," Sanday said.

"It's not a total separation, just a change given his health condition. It is done for his own best interest and for Fiji's best interest, in that sense it was a good mutual outcome."

Costs

Meanwhile, Sanday confirmed that the FRU has had to bear all expenses of the July internationals.

He said there is no financial support from World Rugby for this, as the event is part of SANZAAR (South African, New Zealand, Australian and Argentine Rugby).

SANZAAR is the governing body responsible for major rugby union competitions in the Southern Hemisphere.

He said although a participation fee of US$2 million was to have been paid in, that has not been done yet and the FRU have had to find the money, make the venue bookings and start working on ticket sales with partners.

"At the moment we are funding our own arrangements towards participation in RNC," he said.

"We are expecting to make sufficient returns to cover the costs from tickets sales. Based on current standing, we should make a sizeable profit from the Fiji and England game as ticket sales have exceeded 70 percent of the 52,500 seating capacity.

"Ticket sales for Wales game has been extremely slow and is quite concerning. We have started sales for the Scotland match and it is going steady."

Sanday said with the participation fee payment, meant to cover expenses, delayed, it has meant the FRU looking for funding to get the work done.

"We are supposed to earn a participation fee of US$2m but this has not been paid out as this was initially promised to be paid in the first quarter but has since been changed to later," he stated.

"Wo we are stuck with having to participate and making our own financial arrangements. It has been very challenging but my philosophy is that since we are Tier 1 we need to demonstrate that we are capable of managing our affairs and so far we are doing good under the circumstances.

"We have had to scratch around and get our venues and game day arrangements secured with our meagre resources. It will come eventually.

"Our Finance and Commercial Sub Committee have had to work extra long hours each week to try and have our games secured and ticket sales started. It has been very challenging and exhausting and people can rush to judgement but they don't realize the heavy workload we have to carry since we are Directors of FRU and we shoulder the full responsibilities."

Sanday is calling on members of the Fijian diaspora in the United Kingdom and around the globe to support the team and buy tickets for the three Test matches.

"These are massive projects for any global corporation anywhere," he said, of the FRU's challenge and workload.

"We have to build the base upon which the future of FRU hangs and this is where the heavy lifting is being done."

Fiji's Nations Championship fxtures:

• 4 July v Wales in Cardiff
• 11 July v England in Liverpool
• 18 July Scotland in Edinburgh