Fijian Drua Men’s Skills and Development Coach Ifereimi Rawaqa has been appointed as the interim head coach for the Rooster Chicken Fijian Drua Women’s team for the 2025 Buildcorp Super Rugby Women campaign. Rawaqa takes over from Mosese Rauluni, who recently resigned from his dual role as the head coach for the Fijian Drua Women and Vodafone Fijiana 15s following the WXV competition in Dubai.
The announcement was made by the Fijian Drua and Fiji Rugby Union. Fijian Drua CEO Mark Evans expressed gratitude for Rawaqa’s acceptance of the interim role, emphasizing the importance of the upcoming 2025 Super Rugby Women’s campaign. Evans highlighted Rawaqa’s reputation as one of the most respected coaches in Fiji and his unwavering commitment to rugby in the country, assuring that the Drua Women will be well taken care of under his leadership.
Rawaqa stated his honor in leading the Rooster Chicken Fijian Drua Women for the upcoming season, noting the significance of this season in the preparation for the 2025 Rugby World Cup. One of his initial goals is to collaborate with the assistant coaches and the Fiji Rugby Union’s High-Performance Unit to enhance the squad’s depth.
The Drua Women have an impressive history in Super Rugby Women, having won the championship twice in three years and reaching three consecutive grand finals. Rawaqa plans to initiate pre-season activities earlier this year and is eager to work closely with the players and staff.
As a key member of the Fijian Drua coaching team, Rawaqa oversees recruitment and player development within the Drua Development program. He has also led the high-performance structure for the upcoming Drua Academy, where he was involved in selecting the inaugural cohort of academy players.
A distinguished former player, Rawaqa played 44 Test matches for the Flying Fijians and participated in two Rugby World Cup campaigns in 2003 and 2007, as well as being part of the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens-winning team. With World Rugby Level 3 coaching qualifications, Rawaqa began his coaching career in 2013, initially leading the Lautoka Rugby Under-20 team before taking on the senior team’s head coach role in 2014.
He relocated to Australia in 2016 to serve as a Rugby Talent Identification and Development Officer before returning to be part of the Fijian Latui coaching staff during the Global Rapid Rugby competition. Previously, he has been a forwards coach for the Fiji Warriors and was the head coach for the Police team in the prestigious Sukuna Bowl in 2022. Most recently, in 2023, Rawaqa led the Fiji U20 team during the Oceania competition and the U20 World Rugby Championship in South Africa, achieving notable success.
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