Moses Rauluni Appointed Head Coach For Fijian Drua Women And Vodafone Fijiana National Teams

The Fiji Rugby Union and the Fijian Drua have today announced the appointment of highly regarded former Flying Fijians Captain Moses Rauluni as Head Coach of the Rooster Chicken Fijian Drua Women and Vodafone Fijiana 15s teams.

Rauluni got the nod for the top job given his stellar record as part of Super W and national squad coaching set ups.

He was the Queensland Reds Assistant Coach for the 2023 Super W season as well as an Assistant Coach of the Fijiana 15s during 2022 Rugby World Cup and the head coach for Brisbane’s Easts Rugby team in 2018.

Also joining the Drua Women and Fijiana team management is Selita Koroi, who is no stranger to the role given similar experiences previously with the national women’s 15s and 7s teams.

Fiji Rugby and the Drua have also announced the appointment of Akanisi Drasuna as Personal Development Manager for both teams.

She has been part of the Fiji Rugby Union Get Into Rugby Plus programme, and has been the Operations Manager for Fiji Table Tennis Association.

Both Koroi’s and Drasuna-Cakau’s appointments underscore the priority placed on player welfare and personal growth and development.

Fiji Rugby Chairman of the Board of Trustees Peter Mazey and Fijian Drua CEO Mark Evans welcomed the first set of appointments for the Drua Women and Vodafone Fijiana Teams under the new arrangement between the two organisations.

Peter Mazey said: “These are key appointments for the management team responsible for the entire annual programme for our women’s 15s players. Moses is no stranger

to Fiji Rugby or to our players. He has been part of our system for quite some time for both the women’s and men’s national teams and came through the recruitment process with flying colours.

We were impressed by his vision for the women’s programme.”

Mr. Mazey added: “We are excited to take this first step towards a full-time professional programme for our elite womens players.

They’ll start the year participating in Super W under the Drua and most are expected to transition to national duties, playing in various Tests and tournaments like the Oceania qualifiers.

Under our relationship agreement with the Fijian Drua, the key staff and players will have a central contract with both entities to cover the entire playing year – offering professional career opportunities for our women for the first time ever.”

Fijian Drua CEO Mark Evans added: “We are finalising other management appointments and are preparing for the new squad to assemble in Nadi at the end of this month.

It’s a first for the Drua to operate both men’s and women’s teams, and we will provide them with everything they need to make a historic run at a Super W title three-peat.

Moses and the Drua Women Coaching staff will also get to work closely with the coaching staff of the men’s team, including Head Coach Mick Byrne so there will be a lot of sharing of expertise and resources, as we grow the women’s programme to compete with that of the best in the world.”

Background

Moses Rauluni has played 43 Tests for the Flying Fijians and was captain of the team to the 2007 Rugby World Cup. His extensive coaching background also includes experience as:

• Defence Coach for the Vodafone Fijiana Rugby team at the Oceania Rugby Competition in 2023
• Assistant Coach with the Flying Fijians at the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups
• Assistant Coach with Queensland Country Rugby team at the 2018 National Rugby Championship – Grand Finalists
• Head Coach for Easts Rugby (Brisbane) 2018-2021 (Premiers in 2021)
• Academy Coach for Saracens in the UK

Team Manager Selita Koroi brings in extensive sport and corporate management into the role. Her experience includes:

• Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s team manager (HSBC Sevens Series 2013 to 2015)
• Fiji Outrigger Canoeing national representative
• Corporate experience with Suva City Council, Le Pain de Mie Café and Bula Outsourcing.

Feedback: ktavi@drua.rugby