Glen Jackson will leave the Fijian Drua for undisclosed reasons, the club confirmed on the eve of its Super Rugby Pacific clash in Canberra against the ACT Brumbies. The announcement ends a four-year spell in which Jackson has been a central figure in the Drua’s coaching setup and a key architect of the franchise’s pathway work.
Jackson joined the Drua in 2022 and played a prominent role not only with the Super Rugby squad but also in nurturing talent through the club’s academy. He credited his time in Fiji — and his connections with the national side during the Rugby World Cup — with deep personal meaning. “I just want to say a massive thank you. It’s been six years of my life here, not only with the Drua but also with the Flying Fijians during the Rugby World Cup,” Jackson said. “Fiji means a lot to me. It means a lot to my family. I will sorely miss everything I’ve been through in this wonderful team and country.”
The club described Jackson’s departure as imminent but gave no further details on timing or the reasons for his exit, and no successor has yet been announced. The news arrives at a sensitive point in the Drua season: the squad is managing a mounting injury list even as it prepares for a tough trip to Canberra. Scrum-half Frank Lomani, back-rower Ponipate Loganimasi and prop Epeli Momo remain ruled out, while Elia Canakaivata has been added to the list this week with a sore hip.
Selection changes have been forced by those absences. Second-rower Temo Mayanavanua returns to the matchday squad after a few weeks’ rest and is expected to add bulk to the Drua pack, while local powerhouse Isoa Tuwai has been named to start at number eight in place of Canakaivata. The adjustments underline the dual challenge facing the team: maintaining on-field performance amid injuries and navigating the disruption of a coaching change.
Despite the uncertainty off the field, Jackson expressed confidence about the side’s prospects against the Brumbies. Canberra are fourth on the Super Rugby table and have produced eye-catching results this season, including a win over the Crusaders in Christchurch, but they did suffer a loss to the Drua earlier in the campaign. “It’s going to be a tough match in Canberra. I’m sure they’ll be looking forward to some return fire. But we are going in there with some confidence after the win from the weekend,” Jackson said, highlighting the importance of controlling the maul and executing accurate kicking. “This game will be massive around our maul. We know where they are going to come. They are good with the ball in hand. They have a very dangerous and fast back-three. We’ve got to make sure that when we do kick, we kick well.”
Jackson’s departure raises immediate questions about continuity in coaching and the future of the Drua’s development programmes that he helped build. The club has so far not outlined transitional plans or whether assistant coaches will step up for the remainder of the season. With key players sidelined and the coaching structure in flux, the Drua face a challenging stretch of fixtures that will test the depth of their playing group and the resilience of their pathway system that Jackson helped to establish.
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