STOP wasting time and appoint Senirusi Seruvakula as the head coach of the FIJI Water Flying Fijians!
This is the call of the Suva Rugby Union to the Fiji Rugby Union following Seruvakula’s appointment in an acting capacity after the exit of Mick Byrne last week.
Suva Rugby, in a press statement yesterday, says Seruvakula has acted and been an understudy in the role on several occasions, and called on the FRU to not treat “eligible locals” like him as stewards of the role only for an expatriate coach taking up the role permanently instead.
Suva Rugby chairman Maritino Nemani stressed such moves were not helpful towards the country’s rugby development and growth.
He emphasised Seruvakula should be given the same resources and support offered to foreign coaches who coach the Flying Fijians, and to be backed by a team of technical advisors from Fiji and overseas.
Nemani referred to the work of Josateki Sovau and George Simpkin during the 1987 Rugby World Cup along with Ilivasi Tabua, Shannon Fraser and Greg Mumm as examples of this.
“In both cases, Fiji reached the quarter-finals and in 2023, Seruvakula was assistant coach to Simon Raiwalui when Fiji also reached the quarter-finals. Those are the three times in history that Fiji has reached the (Rugby) World Cup quarter-finals,” Nemani explained.
Seruvakula had expressed his interest in leading the national side before, however he was short-listed twice and also frontrunner, only to miss out.
The call from Suva Rugby comes after mixed reactions from rugby fans and commentators following Seruvakula’s appointment.
While some have saluted the FRU for bringing him in, others have expressed concerns over his appointment, in light of the circumstances in which Byrne and the FRU parted ways.
Last month, media reports surfaced of factions within Rugby House seeking Byrne’s replacement due to concerns regarding his health and wellbeing.
In those conversations, Seruvakula’s name was pushed forward for consideration.
FRU then released a statement saying Byrne and the union parted ways in the best interest of the future of the Flying Fijians, with the Nations Championship coming up in July this year.
Meanwhile, Seruvakula’s current team, the Fiji under-20, lost 39-48 to Japan at the U20 Coffs Coast Festival of Rugby in Australia on Saturday.
