Alifereti Veitokani for Fijian Drua in 2017 NRC

The Fijian Drua (currently known as the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua for sponsorship reasons) is a professional

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 ...

team based in

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 ...

that competes in the

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

. The team was created by the

Fiji Rugby Union Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Fiji. It is divided into over 30 provincial unions. The Fiji Rugby Union is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA), along with Samoa and Tonga. There are a ...

and launched in August 2017, shortly before the

2017 National Rugby Championship The 2017 National Rugby Championship was the fourth season of Australia's National Rugby Championship. It involved nine professional rugby union teams, one more than the previous year, with eight teams from Australia and one team from Fiji. The ...

. The team previously competed in the Australian National Rugby Championship competition between 2017 and 2019, when the tournament was disbanded. On 14 April 2021, New Zealand Rugby Union confirmed the side had been granted a licence to join the

competition.

National Rugby Championship

In July 2017, the

announced that they would enter a team in the Australian domestic National Rugby Championship from the 2017 season onwards following successful negotiations with the Australian Rugby Union, with home matches being played in Suva as well as regional cities

Lautoka Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...

and

Sigatoka Sigatoka ( ) is a town in Fiji. It is on the island of Viti Levu at the mouth of the Sigatoka River, for which it is named, some 61 kilometres from Nadi. Its population at the 2017 census was 17,622. It is the principal urban centre for the pr ...

. On 25 July,

Senirusi Seruvakula Senirusi Seruvakula (born 12 November 1969) is a Fijian rugby union coach. He is currently the Head Coach of the Fiji women's national rugby union team. Rugby career Seruvakula played for the Brothers Rugby Club in Brisbane for seven years. He m ...

was named as the head coach of the team for their inaugural season, and a few days later the first players were invited to a training camp. The team's name, logo and kit was revealed on 16 August 2017, with the FRU announcing that the team would be known as the Fijian Drua. In their first year of competition in NRC 2017, the Drua won three of their first four matches to be well placed at the midpoint of the season, but then lost three of their remaining four matches to finish in third place. The team was well beaten by the eventual Champions in their semifinal. The Drua finished on top of the table after the regular season in the following year, losing only one match away to Queensland Country. In the last round they won the

Horan-Little Shield The Horan-Little Shield is a trophy in Australia's domestic rugby union competition. Proposed to the Australian Rugby Union, now known as Rugby Australia, by members of the Green and Gold Rugby supporters website, it was first played for in 201 ...

by defeating Perth Spirit away in Perth, before beating in their semifinal at home in

. In the final, played at the same venue a week later, the Drua avenged their previous losses to Queensland Country with a 36–26 win to take the 2018 National Rugby Championship title. The 2019 season saw the Drua once again make the playoffs, finishing with three wins, two draws and two defeats. However, they were unable to defend their title, losing in the semi-finals to . This would be their last match in the tournament as the tournament was disbanded following a change in TV deal at the end of 2020, with the 2020 edition having been cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Super Rugby

Following the conclusion of the

2020 Super Rugby season The 2020 Super Rugby season was the 25th season of Super Rugby, an international men's rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR involving teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It is the third tournament in its ...

, the licences for the South African

sides; the , the , the and the , the Argentine and the Japanese all expired. The

2021 Super Rugby season The 2021 Super Rugby season was the 26th season of Super Rugby, an annual men's international rugby union tournament organised by SANZAAR, involving teams from Australia and New Zealand. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was wholly reg ...

, still affected by the

, was played in two regionalised tournaments featuring the five New Zealand Super Rugby sides and the four Australian Super Rugby sides, plus the Western Force who had returned to the tournament having lost their licence at the end of the

2017 Super Rugby season The 2017 Super Rugby season was the 22nd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the second season featuring an expand ...

. However, from 2022 onwards a new 12-team tournament had been mooted, and on 13 November 2020, the New Zealand Rugby Union announced the Fijian Drua, along with the

Moana Pasifika Moana Pasifika is a rugby union team made up of players from various Pacific island nations as well as New Zealand or Australian born players of Pasifika heritage, including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands. The team was originally creat ...

as its preferred partners to join the competition. Further steps were made in March 2021, when the New Zealand Rugby Union agreed to a sharing of broadcast revenue with both the Drua and Moana Pasifika, and this was followed later in the same month by World Rugby announcing financial, high performance and administrative support for both potential new sides, in order to boost the performances of Pacific Islands at international level, while also being able to stay local instead of heading overseas. On 14 April 2021, both sides were granted licences to join

in 2022 by the New Zealand Rugby Union. On 30 August 2021, the side was confirmed in

for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, beginning with the

2022 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams fr ...

. The team will be based in

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

, however for the 2022 season, the team will be based in Australia due to travel restrictions as a consequence of the

, with the Lake Ainsworth Sports and Recreation Centre in

Lennox Head, New South Wales Lennox Head is a seaside village in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the stretch of coast between Byron Bay and Ballina in Ballina Shire local government area. It had a population of 7,741 in the 2016 Austra ...

confirmed as the teams base for the 2022 season in November 2021. The team will be coached by Mick Byrne for 2022 and 2023. On 15 November 2021, the schedule for the

was announced, with the Drua's inaugural match against the in Auckland. On 21 January 2022,

Nemani Nagusa Nemani Nagusi (born 21 July 1988) is a Fiji rugby union player. His usual position is as a Flanker, and he currently plays for Fijian Drua in Super Rugby Pacific. Early Life Nagusa attended the prestigious all boys boarding school Ratu Kadavul ...

was named captain for the 2022 season.

Name and colours

The team is named after the

drua Drua, also known as na drua, n'drua, ndrua or waqa tabu ("sacred canoe", ), is a double-hull sailing boat that originated in the south-western Pacific islands. Druas do not tack but rather shunt (stern becomes the bow and vice versa). Both ends o ...

, a traditional Fijian double canoe that served as warships in naval battles. The team's logo originally pictured a drua stylised inside a rugby ball, to symbolise Fijian players' speed, agility and flair. It was replaced when the team joined

, with the new logo picturing a drua. The Fijian Drua colours while participating in the National Rugby Championship were sky blue, black and white.

Sponsorship

When the team competed in the National Rugby Championship,

Fiji Airways Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, K ...

were the principal sponsor for the Drua, signing a five-year deal in late 2017, and ISC were their kit manufacturer. The team was also sponsored by

Paradise Beverages Paradise Beverages (Fiji) Limited is a Fijian alcoholic beverage producer based in Suva. It is a publicly listed company on the South Pacific Stock Exchange. Paradise Beverages was established in August 1957 in Suva, following a partnership betw ...

, with the Fiji Gold Beer logo and the Ratu Rum brand appearing on the sleeves and back of the jersey. On 27 October 2021, New Balance were announced as the official apparel partner for the team in

on a three-year deal. On 11 November 2021, ''Rooster Chicken'' were announced as one of the teams jersey sponsors on a three-year deal, while on 16 November 2021, ''PacificAus'' (a sports programme set up by the Australian government) were announced as sponsors of the team on a three-year deal. On 17 November 2021, during the teams kit reveal for the 2022 season, Swire Shipping were announced as the teams naming rights sponsor for 2022, while Fiji Airways will return to sponsor the side as a jersey sponsor.

Stadiums

While participating in the National Rugby Championship between 2017 and 2019, the Drua played their fixtures at ANZ Stadium, Suva (2017 and 2019), Churchill Park (2017, 2018 and 2019),

Lawaqa Park Lawaqa Park is a rugby union stadium in Sigatoka, Fiji. The stadium has a nominal capacity of 12,000 people. It currently hosts rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at R ...

(2017 and 2019) and

Ratu Cakobau Park Ratu Cakobau Park, known as Vodafone Ratu Cakobau Park for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-use stadium located in Nausori, Fiji. It is currently used for association football, rugby union and American football matches and hosts the home games of F ...

(2018) in Fiji. For

, the Drua will play at least one fixture in Fiji during the

, playing at ANZ Stadium, Suva in Round 7. A further match in Fiji could take place in 2022, with the rest of the Drua's home matches taking place in Australia, with the

CommBank Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as Commonwealth Bank, CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Pa ...

in Parramatta,

Leichhardt Oval Leichhardt Oval is a rugby league and soccer stadium in Lilyfield, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently one of three home grounds for the Wests Tigers National Rugby League (NRL) team, along with Campbelltown Stadium and Western Sydney S ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and Suncorp Stadium in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

being confirmed as hosting venues. Due to flooding in the

area of Australia, the

Sunshine Coast Stadium Sunshine Coast Stadium is a multi-sport venue located at Kawana Waters on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. The stadium is the main venue in a sporting precinct that also includes seven fields. Development Sunshine Coast Stadium was fir ...

in Kawana Waters was used for their round 3 match, while following the relaxation of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

restrictions, the Drua were able to reschedule their round 15 match so it could be played in Fiji, at Churchill Park.

Current squad

The squad for the

2023 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia, Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific in Fiji and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 28th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition ...

is:

Coaching staff

The following coaching team was appointed for the

Records

Honours

* National Rugby Championship **Champions:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

**Playoff appearances:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

**Season winners:

Season standings

National Rugby Championship :

Head coaches

* Mick Byrne (2022–) *

(2017–2019)

Captains

(2022–) *

Eremasi Radrodro Eremasi Navari Radrodro (born 17 September 1987) is a Fijian rugby union player and former international. Radrodro is a native of Batiki island in the Lomaiviti archipelago. A back-row forward, Radrodro has played locally for Nadroga, where he h ...

(2019) *

Mosese Voka Mosese Voka (born 7 June 1985) is a Fijian rugby player for Fijian Latui in Global Rapid Rugby and the Fijian national team. His primary position is back row. In August 2019 he was named in Fiji's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup The ...

(2018) *

John Stewart John Stewart may refer to: Business * John Aikman Stewart (1822–1926), American banker * John Killough Stewart (1867–1938), businessman and philanthropist in Queensland, Australia * John K. Stewart (1870–1916), American entrepreneur and inve ...

(2017)

References

External links

* {{Rugby union in Fiji 2017 establishments in Fiji Rugby clubs established in 2017 National Rugby Championship Super Rugby teams Fijian rugby union teams Diaspora sports clubs in Australia Fijian Drua