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.
| Founded | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Ground(s) | Churchill Park (Capacity: 11,000) HFC Bank Stadium (Capacity: 15,000) |
| Coach(es) | Mosese Rauluni |
| League(s) | Super Rugby Women's |
| 2024 | Runner-up |
| Official website | |
| drua | |
History
editRugby 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
editOn 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
editOn 22 February, the squad for the 2024 Super Rugby Women's season was announced.[16]
| Fijiana Drua Super W squad | ||
|---|---|---|
Props
Hookers
Locks
| Loose Forwards
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
| Centres
Wingers
Fullbacks
|
| (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| 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– | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 66.66% |
| Totals (2022–present)* | 17 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 64.70% | |
| Updated to: 28 April 2024 | ||||||
Notes:
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c Williamson, Nathan (8 February 2022). "Fijiana Drua added to Super W for 2022". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ a b c "Fijiana Drua Join Super W 2022". PacificAus Sports. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ Prasad, Vashneel (11 March 2022). "Rooster Chicken is the official Fijiana Drua sponsor". Official Website of Fiji Rugby Union. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ Matairakula, Talei (11 March 2022). "Rooster Chicken is official Fijiana Drua sponsor". Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ "Fijiana Drua cap off unbeaten season with historic comeback win over Waratahs". the Guardian. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ Magick, Samantha (25 April 2022). "Fiji celebrates historic Fijiana Drua win". Islands Business. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ Williamson, Nathan (23 April 2022). "Fijiana Drua claim Super W title in epic Grand Final". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Fijiana Drua to take SuperW to Fiji in 2023". ESPN.com. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ Williamson, Nathan (22 November 2022). "Super W draw confirmed for 2023 season". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Fijiana Drua become Super W champions again as Reds suffer more grand final heartache". ABC News. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- ^ a b "FIJIANA DRUA TO COME UNDER COUNTER RUCK". Fijian Drua Rugby. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ "RAULUNI APPOINTED HEAD COACH FOR FIJIAN DRUA WOMEN". Fijian Drua Rugby. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ Matairakula, Talei (11 January 2024). "Rauluni new head coach for Fijian Drua Women". The Fiji Times. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ "2024 ROOSTER CHICKEN FIJIAN DRUA WOMEN SQUAD NAMED". Fijian Drua Rugby. 22 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.