Barely two days ago I surveyed the list of head coaches at the 2021 World Cup. Five of them were no longer in position.
Now we must add a sixth name, that of Senirusi Seruvakula, who is stepping down from leading Fijiana. Under his guidance Fijiana Drua won the Super W Championship in its first year in Australia; then he guided the 15s side to win the Oceania Championship. They finished ninth overall at the RWC in New Zealand, a record to be proud of. And as he says, he had to start more or less from scratch.
Though each of the six retirements is distinct, Seruvakula’s decision reminds us of the heavy load carried by people in these top positions.
Fiji’s status is unusual but not unique. They share with the other Pacific archipelagos, especially Samoa and Tonga, a devotion to the game, coupled with grave underfunding. There are few ready-made solutions to their problems. Any thoughts of combining all three nations into a single entity have to be laughed off. So often your nearest neighbour is your bitterest rival.
Their playing strength is constantly being eroded by emigration, especially to New Zealand.
At the time of the Black Ferns’ post-European tour review it was claimed that 25% of the squad came under the heading Pasifika. 2023’s best-selling rugby author, Ruby Tui, will talk to you in Samoan as willingly as in English.
Fijiana were delighted to qualify for the RWC, even more so at defeating South Africa. But this triumph came after a restrictive lockdown that deprived the players of much needed competition.
One of the many targets World Rugby set itself with the introduction of WXV was to give nations such as Fiji more regular exposure to international contests. They certainly enjoyed them in Aotearoa.
So now the sad list of retirements grows longer. As of 5 January 2023 it looks like this:
Australia – Jay Tregonning
Canada – Kevin Rouet
England – Simon Middleton
Fiji – Senirusi Seruvakula (Retired)
France – Annick Hayraud (Retired)
Italy – Andrea Di Giandomenico (Retired)
Japan – Lesley McKenzie
New Zealand – Wayne Smith (Retired)
Scotland – Bryan Easson
South Africa – Stanley Raubenheimer (Retired)
USA – Rob Cain (Resigned)
Wales – Ioan Cunningham
Footnote
It’s good to hear that Andrea Di Giandomenico will continue active service in the role of full-time lead in the training of coaches, a position he had held since 2016.
Second, that the Fiji board is looking to offer Seruvakula alternative roles.
