NEW Swire Shipping Fijian Drua head coach Brad Mooar says building strong relationships with players and creating an environment where they want to stay will be central to his leadership.
Mooar, who officially begins his role in September, said he was attracted to the Drua by its people, culture and the opportunity to work with talented Fijian athletes.
“What attracted me is the people, the culture, and the opportunity to work with some outstanding athletes in the game that we love as well,” Mooar said.
Mooar said his leadership would be built around caring for players as individuals, understanding their lives outside rugby and respecting what is important to them.
He said faith was an important part of Fijian culture and would be embraced within the Drua environment.
“The vision, or certainly how I lead, is we care for our people, care for them as individuals and as the people that they are, get to know them, understand what life is outside of here, who’s in your family, who’s important to you, why do you play, care for the faith, it’s very important in Fijian people in particular, and to show that we respect that and embrace and show our belief and care in that space,” he said.
Mooar said players would also be valued and empowered to contribute their individual strengths to the team.
“Value, we value our people, we value them as individuals that they are and value what they do here, show them how important it is what they do for us and to achieve what we do and then empower them.
“Empower the individual to have the space to bring what they want to bring to our group.”
Mooar believes the Drua already has a strong foundation, crediting the work of former coaches Mick Byrne and Glen Jackson.
Rather than making wholesale changes, he wants to build on the strengths already within the squad.
“We have wonderful athletes, strong, fast, skilful, powerful athletes.
“What we need to do is to make sure we bring them together to give them real clarity of role, clarity of what we’re about as a team and then that allows them to bring their skill sets to the fore in every game and take the opportunities that are in front of them.”
Mooar identified a strong set piece and aggressive defence as key areas for the Drua, while maintaining the attacking flair the team is known for.
“I think ensuring that we have a really strong set piece and an aggressive, strong defence that is built on defending our people, defending our village will be key roles for us to get right going forward to add to the attacking flair and the attacking ability that we’ve got,” he said.
Mooar’s key performance indicator is whether players finish the season wanting to remain part of the Drua.
“My biggest KPI for 2027 is that we have a group of people, everyone that has been part of the Drua by the end of the season wants to stay.
“That they’ve had an experience that inspires them, excites them, that has improved them, challenged them and has been absolutely enjoyable in the good times and in the challenging times.”
Mooar brings experience from coaching environments including the Crusaders, All Blacks and Scotland.
He said those experiences had taught him the importance of adapting to new environments, listening and understanding the culture before trying to make changes.
“I believe that every environment you go into, you’re the visitor. This is the Drua environment, the Fiji environment, that I’m now privileged to be part of.
“I need to fit and contribute into this environment, not the other way around,” he added.
As he prepares to officially begin in September, Mooar said Drua players could expect a demanding but enjoyable environment where effort would be non-negotiable.
“They can expect to enjoy being here, to enjoy coming to work, bounce out of bed to get to the Drua and work hard for each other.
“They’ll know that effort is a compulsory requirement. We all work hard physically, mentally, emotionally. We will put in the effort for each other and that will drive performance.”
Mooar also promised an environment where players could have fun, laugh and sing while working towards a common goal.
To the Drua supporters, Mooar had a simple message.
“We’re thrilled to be here, thank you for the opportunity, thank you for supporting our team, loving the game and for the opportunity, it’s just magnificent.
“We can’t wait to get to work and look forward to meeting everyone,” he concluded.
