Ifereimi Rawaqa, the skills and development coach for the Fijian Drua men’s team, has been appointed as the interim head coach for the Rooster Chicken Fijian Drua Women as they prepare for the 2025 Super Rugby Women season. Rawaqa steps in following the resignation of Mosese Rauluni, who held the dual role of head coach for both the Fijian Drua women and Vodafone Fijiana XVs after the recent WXV tournament in Dubai. This decision was made by the Drua and Fiji Rugby Union.
Mark Evans, the CEO of Fijian Drua, expressed gratitude for Rawaqa’s willingness to take on this interim position during a crucial time leading up to the 2025 Super W campaign. He emphasized Rawaqa’s reputation as a highly respected coach in Fiji and the region, assuring that the team would benefit from his expertise.
Rawaqa acknowledged the honor of leading the Rooster Chicken Fijian Drua Women and highlighted the significance of this season as crucial for Fiji’s preparation for the 2025 Rugby World Cup. He stated that one of his first tasks will be collaborating with the assistant coaches and the high-performance unit of the Fiji Rugby Union to strengthen the team’s depth.
Under Rawaqa’s leadership, the Drua women have a commendable history in Super W, clinching the championship title twice within three years and reaching three consecutive grand finals. He plans to commence pre-season training earlier this year and looks forward to working closely with all players and staff.
Rawaqa has been a vital part of the Drua coaching team, overseeing recruitment and player pathways. Recently, he has led high-performance setups for the upcoming Drua Academy for youth players aged 17 to 18 and played a key role in selecting the inaugural cohort of academy players.
As a former Flying Fijian with 44 Test caps, Rawaqa participated in two Rugby World Cup tournaments in 2003 and 2007 and was part of the victorious 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens team. He holds a World Rugby Level 3 coaching accreditation and began his coaching career in 2013 with the Lautoka Rugby Under-20 team before leading the main squad in 2014.
After moving to Australia in 2016 as a Rugby Talent Identification and development officer at Kaizen Hill, he later returned to coach the Fijian Latui in the Global Rapid Rugby competition. Rawaqa also served as forwards coach for the Fiji Warriors and was head coach for the Police team at the prestigious Ratu Sukuna Bowl in 2022. In 2023, he led the Fiji U20 team in the Oceania competition and the U20 World Rugby Championship in South Africa, where they achieved notable success.
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