Fiji Airways Flying Fijians head coach Mick Byrne reflects with pride on the national team’s 2025 performance, describing it as a year marked by clear growth, commitment, and improvement, despite some moments of disappointment, particularly against top-tier teams. He notes that knowledgeable observers have recognised the team’s progress.
When asked to summarise their ten test matches in one word, Byrne replied,
“I think that’s an easy way out. I don’t believe there’s one word that captures it. We experienced some disappointment against Australia, we could have won that test. So, after the Australia game, we were disappointed, but still proud of our performance. The following week, we bounced back and defeated Scotland.”
With high expectations from fans, Byrne believes the team has made significant strides in maintaining focus and avoiding distractions by consistently stepping up to their roles every day.
“One of the key things in rugby is that, while it’s an emotional game for us on the field and for both coaches and players, we have to manage our emotions. We can’t ride the emotional rollercoaster, even though we might want to. Looking back over the years, I’d say we’re quite proud of what we’ve achieved.”
Despite the frustrations and disappointments felt by some fans, Byrne maintains that the team has grown considerably in 2025. However, he acknowledges that rugby is the number one sport in the country, and with that comes inevitable criticism of the national team.
Furthermore, with the success of the sevens team, fans naturally expect the same from the Flying Fijians. Byrne explains the technical differences and demands of the fifteen-a-side game, emphasising the adjustments needed to remain competitive against leading rugby nations while preserving the exciting flair of Fijian rugby.
“To compete with those top teams, we must respect the ball and play a different style of rugby. During this transition period, many supporters want to see certain things from our team, but we know those won’t necessarily get us results against the best teams in the world.”
