SWIRE Shipping Fijian Drua head coach Glen Jackson has confirmed that captain Meli Derenalagi and senior halfback Frank Lomani are both recovering well from injuries sustained during the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.
The pair missed the back end of the 2025 season due to injuries Derenalagi with a knee problem and Lomani following shoulder surgery. Despite their absence, Jackson said their leadership off the field remained crucial during the team’s campaign.
Jackson said both players are in good spirits and progressing steadily in their rehabilitation programs.
Derenalagi will be out for nine months.
“Meli Derenalagi had another surgery on his knee, so he’s had two knee reconstructions, essentially.
“He is in the building with us and it’s obviously our goal to get him back on the field as fast as we can. But unfortunately, he’s out for nine months, so we’ll do as much as we can to try and get him back to full fitness and then reassess how it goes from there. But what we do in this club is that Meli is getting looked after,” Jackson said.
Jackson gave his assurance that Derenalagi will be looked after by the club.
“He’s off contract in January or December, but that certainly doesn’t mean that we won’t look after him and try and get him back on the field.”
Jackson also updated the media on Frank Lomani injury.
“Frank’s great. He’s back. We’re just progressing slowly with the shoulder surgery. He is back in nearly full training. We’ve obviously got a long time before we play Moana, so we don’t need to rush Frank. Frank was reasonably close to being back for the Flying Fijians team.
The Drua begin their 2026 pre-season Sun Bell campaign later this month, with a focus on rebuilding combinations and fitness heading into the new season.
