The Swire Shipping Fijian Drua has announced the appointment of Ifereimi Rawaqa
as new Skills and Development Coach.
The former Flying Fijian lock joins the Drua at an important time to strengthen its coaching ranks and take charge of the development group.
Rawaqa has World Rugby Level 3 coaching accreditations and has excellent
experience as a coach and a player with 44 caps for the Flying Fijians.
He started his coaching journey in 2013 with the Lautoka Rugby Under-20 team and taking on the Head Coach role for the main side in 2014.
Rawaqa moved to Australia in 2016 to become a Rugby Talent Id; Development
Officer at Kaizen Hill, before returning to be part of the Fijian Latui Coaching staff for
the Global Rapid Rugby competition.
He was the Forwards Coach for the Fiji Warriors and in 2022 was Head Coach for Police for the prestigious Sukuna Bowl.
In 2023 Rawaqa was the Head Coach for the Fiji U20 team to the Oceania competition
and U20 World Rugby Championship in South Africa, where Fiji had an impressive
outing.
Rawaqa is one of Fiji’s most prolific Flying Fijians and has been part of two Rugby
World Cup campaigns (2003 and 2007).
He was also a member of the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens-winning team.
Fijian Drua CEO Mark Evans said: “Having Ifereimi on the coaching staff is great for
the Drua. Just like players, we are committed building capacity among local coaches
and high performance staff. Ifereimi is a great fit for us, not just because of his
experience as a player and a coach, but his specific knowledge of the Fijian rugby landscape.”
“He has two very important roles in his position with the Drua, making sure our squad has the skill sets required for first class rugby and ensuring our development pathway is ready to step up to the requirements of Super Rugby Pacific when needed.”
“He has already started working closely alongside Mick Byrne and our coaching staff in his new role and we’re very excited about what he brings to the Fijian Drua.”
The Fijian Drua’s 2024 Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific season starts on February
24 against Blues in Auckland.
