Fijian Drua Women

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Fijian Drua Women
Founded2022; 2 years ago (2022)
Ground(s)Churchill Park
(Capacity: 11,000)
HFC Bank Stadium
(Capacity: 15,000)
Coach(es)Mosese Rauluni
League(s)Super Rugby Women's
2024Runner-up
Official website
drua.rugby

The Fijian Drua Women (known as the Rooster Chicken Fijian Drua Women for sponsorship reasons) are a Fijian rugby union team based in Fiji.[1][2] They compete in the Super Rugby Women's competition. They were crowned champions in their inaugural season in 2022, and successfully defended their title in 2023.

History[edit]

Rugby Australia announced in February 2022 that the Fijiana Drua had joined the Super W competition.[1][2] The Fijiana Drua is the first Fijian team to join the competition with support from the Australian Government’s PacificAus Sports program.[1][2] The Fiji Rugby Union announced that Rooster Chicken were the official sponsors of the Fijiana Drua for the 2022 Super W season.[3][4]

Fijiana Drua won all matches of the 2022 Super W and claimed the title in their historic first season. They defeated the NSW Waratahs 32–26 in the final.[5][6][7] In November 2022, the Fijiana Drua confirmed their participation for the 2023 Super W season with two home and three away round-robin matches.[8][9][10]

The Fijiana Drua successfully defended their title for the 2023 Super W season, they defeated the Queensland Reds in the grand final 38–30.[11][12]

Name Change and Management[edit]

On 8 December 2023, the team officially changed its name to Rooster Chicken Fijian Drua Women as they compete in the newly named Super Rugby Women's competition in 2024.[13] It was announced that the team would now be fully administered by the management of Counter Ruck Ltd.[13]

Mosese Rauluni was appointed as the new Head Coach for the side in January 2024.[14][15]

Current squad[edit]

On 22 February, the squad for the 2024 Super Rugby Women's season was announced.[16]

Fijiana Drua Super W squad

Props

  • Fiji Anasimeci Korovata
  • Fiji Salanieta Nabuli
  • Fiji Loraini Seiniloli
  • Fiji Mereoni Vonosere
  • Fiji Tiana Robanakadavu
  • Fiji Siteri Rasolea

Hookers

  • Fiji Litia Marama
  • Fiji Keleni Marawa
  • Fiji Vika Matarugu
  • Fiji Una Lalabalavu

Locks

Loose Forwards

Scrum-halves

  • Fiji Noelani Baselala
  • Fiji Setaita Railumu
  • Fiji Evivi Senikarivi

Fly-halves

Centres

Wingers

  • Fiji Adita Milinia
  • Fiji Iva Sauira
  • Fiji Atelaite Buna

Fullbacks

  • Fiji Repeka Aditove
  • Fiji Luisa Basei
(cc) Denotes team co-captains, Bold denotes internationally capped and ST indicated short-term cover.

Season standings[edit]

Year Position Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Play-offs
2022 Champion 5 5 0 0 184 51 +133 24 Defeated NSW Waratahs in the final
2023 Champion 5 2 0 3 88 118 –30 9 Defeated Queensland Reds in the final
2024 2nd 5 3 0 2 113 129 −16 13 Defeated by NSW Waratahs in the final

Coach[edit]

Fijian Drua coaches by date, matches and win percentage*
Coach Period G W D L %
Senirusi Seruvakula 2022 5 5 0 0 100%
Inoke Male 2023 5 2 0 3 40%
Mosese Rauluni 2024– 6 4 0 2 66.66%
Totals (2022–present)* 16 11 0 5 68.75%
Updated to: 19 April 2024

Notes:

^* Official Super Rugby Women's competition matches only, including finals.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Williamson, Nathan (8 February 2022). "Fijiana Drua added to Super W for 2022". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Fijiana Drua Join Super W 2022". PacificAus Sports. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  3. ^ Prasad, Vashneel (11 March 2022). "Rooster Chicken is the official Fijiana Drua sponsor". Official Website of Fiji Rugby Union. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  4. ^ Matairakula, Talei (11 March 2022). "Rooster Chicken is official Fijiana Drua sponsor". Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Fijiana Drua cap off unbeaten season with historic comeback win over Waratahs". the Guardian. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  6. ^ Magick, Samantha (25 April 2022). "Fiji celebrates historic Fijiana Drua win". Islands Business. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  7. ^ Williamson, Nathan (23 April 2022). "Fijiana Drua claim Super W title in epic Grand Final". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  8. ^ Prasad, Vashneel (23 November 2022). "Rooster Chicken Fijiana Drua to defend Super W title with two home matches for next season". Official Website of Fiji Rugby Union. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Fijiana Drua to take SuperW to Fiji in 2023". ESPN.com. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  10. ^ Williamson, Nathan (22 November 2022). "Super W draw confirmed for 2023 season". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  11. ^ Williamson, Nathan (6 May 2023). "Fijian Drua claim back-to-back Super W titles after defeating Reds". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Fijiana Drua become Super W champions again as Reds suffer more grand final heartache". ABC News. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  13. ^ a b "FIJIANA DRUA TO COME UNDER COUNTER RUCK". Fijian Drua Rugby. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  14. ^ "RAULUNI APPOINTED HEAD COACH FOR FIJIAN DRUA WOMEN". Fijian Drua Rugby. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  15. ^ Matairakula, Talei (11 January 2024). "Rauluni new head coach for Fijian Drua Women". The Fiji Times. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  16. ^ "2024 ROOSTER CHICKEN FIJIAN DRUA WOMEN SQUAD NAMED". Fijian Drua Rugby. 22 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
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