Fiji women's national rugby union team
National sports team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Fiji women's national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Fiji, representing them at rugby union. They played their first test against Samoa in 2006, and compete annually in the Oceania Rugby Women's Championship. In 2022, they created history when they scored the third-highest points in both Men's and Women's Rugby at the Oceania Championship when they trounced Papua New Guinea 152–0. They made their first Rugby World Cup appearance at the delayed tournament in New Zealand.
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| Nickname | Fijiana | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Fiji Rugby Union | ||
| Head coach | Ioan Cunningham | ||
| Captain | Alfreda Fisher Maria | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 13 (as of 22 September 2025) | ||
| Highest | 13 (2025) | ||
| Lowest | 32 (2007) | ||
| First international | |||
 Fiji 15–27 Samoa  (Nukuʻalofa, Tonga; 14 April 2006) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Fiji 152–0 Papua New Guinea  (Papakura, New Zealand; 9 July 2022) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
Fiji 19–84 England  (Auckland, New Zealand; 8 October 2022) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2021) | ||
| Rank | Change* | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | England | 98.09 |
| 2 | |  Canada | 91.53 |
| 3 | |  New Zealand | 89.85 |
| 4 | |  France | 83.60 |
| 5 | |  Ireland | 78.20 |
| 6 | |  Scotland | 77.39 |
| 7 | |  Australia | 75.46 |
| 8 | |  United States | 72.90 |
| 9 | |  Italy | 72.37 |
| 10 | |  South Africa | 71.62 |
| 11 | |  Japan | 69.72 |
| 12 | |  Wales | 66.13 |
| 13 | | Fiji | 63.98 |
| 14 | |  Spain | 62.42 |
| 15 | | Samoa | 59.72 |
| 16 | |  Hong Kong | 57.56 |
| 17 | |  Netherlands | 57.42 |
| 18 | |  Russia | 55.10 |
| 19 | |  Kazakhstan | 53.88 |
| 20 |  1 |  Germany | 51.10 |
| *Change from the previous week | |||
History
Fiji played their first match in 1997 against a visiting United States XV's team. They played their first international test match against Samoa in the one-off Women's Pacific Tri-Nations in 2006.
Ten years after the Women's Pacific Tri-Nations, the Oceania Rugby Women's Championship was established. The first tournament was held in 2016 between Fiji and Papua New Guinea at the ANZ National Stadium in Suva.[2] The tournament was also part of the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup qualification process.[2] Fiji beat Papua New Guinea 37–10 to win the inaugural Oceania Championship and progress to the next stage of qualifications.[3]
Fiji met Hong Kong and Japan in a Repechage tournament, but lost both matches and did not qualify for the 2017 World Cup.[4] In 2018, Fijiana won the second edition of the Oceania Championship and successfully defended their title after winning all their matches.[5]
The 2019 Oceania Championship also served as a qualifier for the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. It was also the first time that the Oceania region was granted a spot at the World Cup. New Zealand and Australia had already qualified from the previous World Cup, Fijiana won the remaining spot and qualified for their first World Cup.[6][7]
Fiji played two test matches against Australia and Japan in 2022 at Brisbane.[8][9] It would be their first test match against the Wallaroos and only their second time to meet Japan.[10] Fiji won the 2022 Oceania Rugby Championship in New Zealand.[11][12][13] They created history when they scored the third-highest points in both Men's and Women's Rugby at the 2022 Oceania Championships as they trounced Papua New Guinea 152–0 in Papakura, New Zealand.[14][15]
First World Cup
In 2022, Fijiana were overwhelmed in their first Rugby World Cup match by England who ran in 14 tries and recorded an 84–19 victory.[16][17] They later achieved their first World Cup win when they defeated South Africa 21–17.[18][19] Their win against the Springbok Women moved them up five places to their highest ranking of 16th from 21st.[20][21] France kept Fiji scoreless in their last World Cup match with a score of 44–0.[22][23]
Second World Cup
Fiji qualified for their second Rugby World Cup after winning the 2024 Oceania Rugby Women's Championship.[24][25]
Records
Rugby World Cup
| Rugby World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | GP | W | D | L | PF | PA | ||||||||||||
| Fiji was not invited to any of the World Cups between 1991 and 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 |
Did not qualify | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Pool stage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 149 | ||||||||||||
| 2025 | Pool stage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 119 | ||||||||||||
| 2029 |
TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2033 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 2/10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 90 | 268 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Overall
(Full internationals only, updated to 27 March 2026)
| Opponent | First game | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia |
2022 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0% |
| Canada |
2022 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0% |
 Colombia |
2023 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| England |
2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% |
| France |
2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% |
| Hong Kong |
2016 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33.33% |
| Japan |
2016 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25% |
| Kazakhstan |
2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Netherlands |
2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% |
| Papua New Guinea |
2016 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Samoa |
2006 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 60% |
| Scotland |
2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% |
| South Africa |
2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Spain |
2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% |
 Tonga |
2006 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| United States |
2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% |
| Wales |
2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Summary | 2006 | 47 | 23 | 0 | 24 | 48.94% |
Players
Current squad
Fiji announced their final squad on 9 August 2025 for the Women's Rugby World Cup in England.[26][27]
Note: The age and number of caps listed for each player is as of 22 August 2025, the first day of the tournament.
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keleni Marawa | Hooker | 1 January 1990 (aged 35) | 21 | Fijiana Drua |
| Selai Naliva | Hooker | 2 July 2005 (aged 20) | 1 | |
| Vika Matarugu | Prop | 2 August 1994 (aged 31) | 19 | Fijiana Drua |
| Tiana Robanakadavu | Prop | 17 July 2005 (aged 20) | 18 | Fijiana Drua |
| Loraini Senivutu | Prop | 23 January 2003 (aged 22) | 13 | Fijiana Drua |
| Bitila Tawake | Prop | 2 April 1999 (aged 26) | 23 | Fijiana Drua |
| Bulou Wainikiti Vasuturaga | Prop | 1 November 1991 (aged 33) | 9 | |
| Jade Coates | Second row | 9 July 1998 (aged 27) | 9 | Chiefs Manawa |
| Mereoni Nakesa | Second row | 17 February 2003 (aged 22) | 23 | Fijiana Drua |
| Asinate Serevi | Second row | 16 April 1995 (aged 30) | 27 | Fijiana Drua |
| Nunia Daunimoala | Back row | 30 June 1999 (aged 26) | 17 | Fijiana Drua |
| Alfreda Fisher Maria (c) | Back row | 9 May 2004 (aged 21) | 8 | Fijiana Drua |
| Karalaini Naisewa | Back row | 23 July 1994 (aged 31) | 28 | Fijiana Drua |
| Adi Salaseini Railumu | Back row | 20 November 2002 (aged 22) | 4 | Fijiana Drua |
| Sulita Waisega | Back row | 16 March 2004 (aged 21) | 24 | |
| Carletta Yee | Back row | 21 June 2007 (aged 18) | 1 | Fijiana Drua |
| Kolora Lomani | Scrum-half | 22 July 1999 (aged 26) | 17 | Fijiana Drua |
| Salanieta Kinita | Fly-half | 14 September 2001 (aged 23) | 15 | Fijiana Drua |
| Setaita Railumu | Fly-half | 18 April 2001 (aged 24) | 20 | Fijiana Drua |
| Verenaisi Ditavutu | Centre | 7 September 1999 (aged 25) | 1 | Fijiana 7s |
| Rusila Nagasau | Centre | 4 August 1987 (aged 38) | 12 | Fijiana Drua |
| Alowesi Nakoci | Centre | 18 August 1991 (aged 34) | 7 | Fijiana Drua |
| Ilisapeci Delaiwau | Wing | 1 June 2000 (aged 25) | 5 | Fijiana 7s |
| Mere Vocevoce | Wing | 4 April 2006 (aged 19) | 0 | Fijiana 7s |
| Ema Adivitaloga | Fullback | 27 July 1994 (aged 31) | 20 | Fijiana Drua |
| Repeka Tove | Fullback | 17 October 1998 (aged 26) | 12 | Fijiana Drua |
| Manuqalo Komaitai | Back | 5 July 1996 (aged 29) | 2 | |
| Kelerayani Luvu | Back | 7 November 2005 (aged 19) | 0 | Fijiana 7s |
| Adi Salote Nailolo | Back | 13 June 2006 (aged 19) | 1 | |
| Josivini Neihamu | Back | 29 January 2004 (aged 21) | 3 | Fijiana Drua |
| Michella'e Stolz | Back | 11 August 2006 (aged 19) | 2 | |
| Litiana Vueti | Back | 20 June 1998 (aged 27) | 2 | Fijiana Drua |
Award winners
The following Fiji players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:[28][29]
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Coaches
| Coach | Years | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| Seremaia Bai |
2016 | [30] |
| Senirusi Seruvakula |
2020–2022 | [31] |
| Inoke Male |
2023 | [32] |
| Mosese Rauluni |
2024 | [33] |
| Ioan Cunningham |
2025– | [34] |
