Stepping down

rankings to improve and many more.”

Yesterday, the Rugby House called a press conference to announce that Seruvakula was stepping down.

Seruvakula has been Fijiana head coach since 2019, taking over from former national skipper, Ro Alivereti Doviverata. Seruvakula coached the Fijiana side to its SuperW debut last year winning all their matches and the title and achieving the Oceania Qualification Cup.

“The structure for women’s rugby was not there when I took over in 2019 but now, we have a lot competition where women can play,” Seruvakula said.

“If we get the structure right, then it is easy for the new national coach to work with the players because the core skills of rugby are taught at club level.

“Now we have a High Performance Academy for women and we have gone through the process of appointing a High Performance manager for that.”

Fiji Rugby Union’s (FRU) chief executive officer, John O’Connor, said the vacant post would be advertised.

O’Connor also confirmed that Seruvakula would remain an employee of the FRU, despite stepping down as Fijiana’s coach. Seruvakula’s specific role was not outlined.

“The Fijiana coach position will be advertised soon, applications will be open for two weeks before we begin the selection progress; hopefully we make the new appointment quickly,” O’Connor said.

“There is a criterion that must be followed before we can appoint a coach.

“Once the new coach is appointed, his coaching team for the season will also be finalised.

“At the moment the interim coaches are Inoke Male and Mike Legge, who have been part of the Fijiana Drua coaching staff since last year’s World Cup. “I would like to thank Senirusi for taking up the challenge in 2019 preparing the Fijiana team for the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

“His campaign has been successful; it began with their winning the National Rugby Championship (NRC) in 2017, women’s rugby in 2019, and SuperW last year. He has a lot of experience that is why we want to continue to work with him.”

The first Fijiana SuperW match is against Brumbies on March 25 at Prince Charles Park, Nadi.