Alona Feskatoa has been named the strength and conditioning coach for the McDonald’s Fijian Drua Women, a role she says marks the latest step in a rapid rise through Fiji’s women’s rugby pathway. Now in her first season with the Drua Women’s programme, the Rotuma-born trainer is tasked with preparing more than 30 players for the physical demands of elite fifteens competition, including the Super W campaign.
Feskatoa, from Malhaha, Rotuma, described the opportunity as "exciting and humbling." Educated at Veiuto Primary School and Suva Grammar School and after a year at the University of the South Pacific, she discovered a passion for fitness that led her to earn a fitness certification in 2023 and start work as a personal trainer. The move from one-on-one coaching to the team environment with the Suva women’s provincial side proved pivotal, she said, exposing her to the complexities of preparing large squads and position-specific conditioning.
“The team environment was different because I wasn’t dealing with one player anymore, I was dealing with more than 30 players,” Feskatoa said. “Every individual and every position requires different workout plans.” That experience prompted her to pursue the technical side of strength and conditioning within rugby. Through the Fiji Rugby Union’s High-Performance Unit she completed World Rugby Strength and Conditioning Level One and Level Two accreditations, credentials that helped open doors into national programmes.
Feskatoa became involved with the national women’s sevens programme late last year and was later called into the fifteens setup ahead of the Oceania campaign. Those roles culminated in her current appointment with the Drua Women, where she works alongside coaches, analysts and other performance staff to ready players for regional and Super W contests. Although she has never played rugby—“I was always the person sitting at home watching the game”—she says the behind-the-scenes work has given her a new appreciation for what it takes to reach elite levels.
Her appointment is notable beyond the technical responsibilities. Feskatoa is the only female in her strength and conditioning office and views her presence as a statement about representation in high-performance sport. “In my field, I’m the only female in that office, so it’s a big thing,” she said, adding that she hopes to inspire more women to pursue coaching and strength roles across rugby and other sports.
Feskatoa’s progression from personal trainer to a key figure in the Drua Women’s performance setup reflects wider growth in Fiji’s women’s rugby structures, where formal accreditation pathways through the FRU’s High-Performance Unit and World Rugby are increasingly feeding local talent into provincial and national programmes. For Feskatoa, the focus remains practical: creating positive training environments, tailoring programmes to individual needs, and continuing to develop as a coach in what she describes as an “exciting” first season with the Drua Women.