THE vision of building a stronger future for Fiji Rugby competitively will be made possible through increased Test matches for the Flying Fijians and its inclusion in the 2026 Nations Cup.
Flying Fijians head coach Mick Byrne made these comments after gauging Fiji’s performance and results from this year’s Test matches.
The Flying Fijians had a seven out of 10 Tests success rate this year.
Performance wise, Byrne believes with more Test matches against top tier teams, the Flying Fijians will be able to close out the gap between them and the Tier 1 rugby nations.
“We got beaten by the All Blacks, Ireland and Scotland which is a very good side and the other two are probably the first, second or third best team in the world. It was a battle for us when we came up against those Tier 1 teams and that’s the growth of our side, to be able to compete at that level,” he said.
Not taking anything away from Fiji’s winning performance in the Pacific Nations Cup and against Georgia, playing against the Tier 1 teams, showed what our national side was lacking and that was what Byrne needed to see and build for the new season.
“When we came in against the All Blacks, Scotland and Ireland, it really showed where we are lacking in our intensity of our games. It gives us a really good indication of what we need to improve on in the way we play moving forward,” Byrne added.
The way forward now for Byrne includes Fiji’s probable inclusion in the 2026 Nations Cup.
“We are just looking forward to hopefully getting a couple of good games next year. Then we got PNC and at this stage we are just awaiting our opponents for the November Tour.”
Fiji and Japan are tipped to be part of the six Southern hemisphere teams that will face the Six Nations side in the new 2026 Nations Cup.
London is believed to be the leading candidate in hosting the competition.
