“FOR us it means that we are elevating to a higher level and for our players this means almost a full season of Tests.” These are the sentiments of Prime Minister and former Flying Fijians prop Sitiveni Rabuka, regarding Fiji’s inclusion in the inaugural Nations Championship which is set to begin in July 2026.
Rabuka who was part of the 1970 Flying Fijians team that toured England and Wales acknowledged the Fiji Rugby Union for their work in getting the national team a place amongst the best rugby nations in the southern and northern hemispheres.
The trickling effect of this will be huge for Fiji Rugby pathways and the PM is urging young players to keep their heads in the game.
“I feel proud for Fiji Rugby Union and I would like to encourage all the young players who are in the squad or are aspiring to get into the squad to set their targets high.”
Under the new structure, the FIJI Water Flying Fijians will play Wales on July 4 in round one, followed by England in round two on July 11 and Scotland on July 18 to complete the first three rounds of Tests.
On the week of November 6-8, Fiji will play France followed by the big clash against Ireland on the week of November 13-15. Fiji will complete its tour on November 21 against Italy.
The July window will see the northern hemisphere teams travel down south while the southern hemisphere teams will travel to the North in November.
Fiji’s hosting venues are yet to be revealed with FRU Board chairman John Sanday earlier indicating Rugby House’s desire of playing their home games in Europe.
“For host matches, we have some exciting developments which we will be announcing. I am sure everyone is going to be pleasantly surprised, and it is going to be something to look forward to,” Fiji Rugby director Lailanie Burnes stated during the official announcement on Monday night.
“We are open to the idea and to the possibility of taking our home matches abroad whether it be the UK or South Africa but we will be making the announcement in due course.”
The high-stakes format culminates in a finals weekend in London featuring three days of double-headers.
The finals weekend will see the No.1 ranked team in the northern hemisphere group play the No.1 ranked team in the southern hemisphere group in the final to decide the inaugural Nations Championship winner.
