Top coaches eye Drua

About 40 coaches from around the world have applied for the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua head coach’s job.

This was confirmed to SUNsports at Suva’s National Stadium last Saturday night by Fijian Drua chief executive officer Jeff Miller.

“We’ll be going through those applications in the next couple of weeks and narrowing it down to a shortlist,” Miller, the legendary Wallabies looseman said.

“Plenty of people want to come to Fiji and coach the Drua.”

Miller added that there were a few notable names in the application list, which he could not reveal.

“The timeline at the moment. We’ll shortlist over the next 10 days probably and depending upon the availability of the panel then we’ve got to interview them. We’ll work through it from there. We hope to have something probably by the end of July.”

Drua’s current head coach Glen Jackson is finishing off at the end of this Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific season.

Jackson, who has been with the Drua since its first year (2022) before becoming head coach ahead of the 2025 season, has played a crucial role in the growth of the club and the men’s team.

He is widely respected for his passion and commitment by the playing group, staff, sponsors and the wider Drua vuvale.

Miller was disappointed in the Drua’s 50–35 thrashing to the NSW Waratahs.

“I think the team will be disappointed with their performances as well,” he said.

“We didn’t execute our lineouts, which made it very difficult for us, and we gave the Waratahs a start that was hard to pull them back.”

Miller has seen an immense pool of talent in the Fijian Drua club in his first year with the franchise, but he indicated the need for the team to be consistent with their performance.

“Getting that consistency will be the key in the coming years,” he said.

“We still got two games to go so I’d like to see the team finish well.”

Miller said it was crucial for the team to finish the season strongly to restore pride for the club and country.

“After that we’ll regroup, review the season and work through how best we can show up next year with hopes of securing a playoff spot,” he added.