The Fiji national under 20 rugby team is for

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

players aged 20 or under on January 1 of the year during which they are selected. Under 20 age grade rugby came into existence, as a result of the IRB combining the

Under 19 Rugby World Championship The IRB under-19 Rugby World Cup was the premier tournament for male rugby union players under the age of 19 organised by the sports governing body the International Rugby Board (IRB) annually from 2004 until 2007. Both it and the Under 21 Rugby Wo ...

and

Under 21 Rugby World Championship The IRB Under 21 Rugby World Cup was the premier tournament for male rugby union players under the age of 21, organised by the sports governing body the International Rugby Board (IRB) annually from 2002 through 2006. Both it and the Under 19 Rugby ...

into a single

IRB Junior World Championship The World Rugby Under 20 Championship (known as the IRB Junior World Championship until 2014) is an international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and is contested by 12 men's junior nat ...

tournament. Since 2014, the Fiji under-20 team has been invited to compete at the Australian Under 20 Rugby Championship.

Junior World Championship / Trophy

Overview

* 2008 World Championship: 14th * 2009 World Championship: 12th * 2010 World Championship: 8th * 2011 World Championship: 6th * 2012 World Championship: 11th * 2013 World Championship: 11th * 2014 World Championship: 12th * 2015 World Trophy: 6th * 2016 World Trophy: 3rd * 2017 World Trophy: qualified

2008

In June 2008 Wales hosted the

2008 IRB Junior World Championship The 2008 IRB Junior World Championship was the first annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. All players who were twenty years of age or under on 1 January 2008 were eligible for selection. This competition repla ...

. Fiji lost all of its pool matches, going down to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

41-17 then losing to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

by 53-17 before going down in a close match against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

by 10-17. In the 13th-16th Places Playoffs, Fiji beat

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

before going down to

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and finishing 14th overall out of 16.

2009

In June 2009, Japan hosted the

2009 IRB Junior World Championship The 2009 IRB Junior World Championship (known as the 2009 IRB Toshiba Junior World Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the second annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaces the now def ...

. Fiji lost its first two matches against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

(36-10) and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(48-25) before defeating

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

by 20-14 with tries to Ledua and

Matawalu {{unreferenced, date=December 2009 Matawalu was a Fijian chief. He was the son of Niumataiwalu—first ''Roko Sau'' of Lau Islands—and Uma of Nukunuku. Matawalu became the fourth ''Roko Sau'', ruler of the Lau Islands, after the death of his h ...

. Fiji lost out to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in the semifinal playoffs and then losing to Argentina in the 11th place play off and finished overall at 12th position and due to its 12th finish, qualified for the next championship in 2010 which was reduced to 12 teams.

2010

In June 2010, Argentina hosted the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship. Fiji played its first game against 2 times winners

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

going down 44-11 with tries to Christopher Nasiganyavi and 2 penalties to Josh Matavesi. They were thumped 31-13 by

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

but accounted for

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

beating them 15-12. In the 5th place play-off, Fiji were beaten 44-9 by

before losing to Wales again in the 7th place play off by 39-15 and finishing 8th overall.

2011

In June 2011, Italy hosted the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship. Fiji played its first game against

losing 24-12 before getting thrashed 50-25 by

. Fiji then went on to beat

36-18. In the 5th-8th place play-off, Fiji thrashed

by 34-20 before getting thrashed by

by 104-17 who scored 14 tries to 2. Even after the loss, Fiji finished at its best ever position of 6th.

Squads

2015

Squad to the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Trophy: #Pateresio Beramaisuva #Timoci Bulitavu #Jone Jordan Cama #Kaveni Dabenaise #Waisea Vasuitoga Daroko #

Filipo Daugunu Filipo Daugunu (born 4 March 1995) is a rugby union player who plays for the Queensland Reds in the Super Rugby competition. His position of choice is wing. Fijian-born, Daugunu moved to Australia in 2016 at the age of 20 to pursue a profes ...

#Rupeni Laganikoro #Ratu Josefa Logavatu #Eroni Mawi #Serupepeli Momo #Seveci Nakailagi #Peniami Narisia #Leone Nawai #Ilisavani Nasemira #Mateo Qolisese #Josaia Raboiliku # Tevita Ratuva # Viliame Ravouvou #Jone Seuvou #Asaeli Sorovaki #Lekima Tagitagivalu #Sela Toga #Vatiliai Tuidraki #Manuele Tuiqali #Seremaia Turagabeci #Filimoni Savou Team Management *Coach – Viliame Gadolo *Assistant Coach – Kele Leawere *Technical Trainer –

Mosese Rauluni Mosese Nasau Rauluni (born 26 June 1975) is a retired Fijian rugby union footballer. He usually plays at scrum half, and played for Saracens in the Guinness Premiership in England. He has played for Fiji, including captaining them. He is the you ...

*Strength & Conditioning Coach - Mathew Dooley *Team Doctor – Dr Josefa Dakuinamako *Physio – Talisa Whippy *Manager – Jone Nute

2014

Notable former coaches

Iliesa Tanivula Iliesa Samusamuvodre Tanivula (born 20 September 1975) is a former New Zealand sevens player and the current coach of the Fiji sevens team. Tanivula could play most positions in the backline. He mainly played at centre, wing or fullback. Play ...

(2010) * Inoke Male (2011)

Notable former players

* Nikola Matawalu (2009) * Metuisela Talebula (2009) * Noa Nakaitaci (2008) * Maritino Nemani (2010) * Josh Matavesi (2010) *

Tevita Kuridrani Tevita Kuridrani (born 31 March 1991) is a Fijian-born Australian rugby union player. His usual position is outside-centre. He is currently with French club Biarritz and previously played for the Brumbies and Western Force in Super Rugby. Kur ...

(2010) *

Semi Radradra Semi Radradra Turagasoli Waqavatu (born 13 June 1992) is a Fijian professional rugby union and rugby league footballer. He currently plays rugby union for the English club Bristol Bears and the Fiji national team. Nicknamed 'Semi Trailer ...

(2011) * Samu Kerevi (2012) *

Ben Volavola Ben Volavola (born 13 January 1991) is an Australian-born Fijian international rugby union footballer who plays for Racing 92. He has previously played for Super Rugby clubs such as the , , and most recently the . Volavola can play as either a ...

(2012)

References

{{National sports teams of Fiji Under-20 Oceanian national under-20 rugby union teams