First Nations & Pasifika XV
Rugby team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
First Nations & Pasifika XV is an Australian-based rugby union team which played the British & Irish Lions during their 2025 tour of Australia.[1] The team was made up of players with Indigenous Australian or Pacific Islander origin.[2]
| |
| Full name | First Nations & Pasifika XV |
|---|---|
| Union | Australian Rugby Union |
| Founded | 2025 |
| Coach | Toutai Kefu (2025) |
Background
Originally, the British and Irish Lions were scheduled to play nine matches on their tour of Australia. This included the Melbourne Rebels, whom went into administration in January 2024 and were dropped from the tour schedule as a result.[3] The First Nations & Pasifika XV were formed by Rugby Australia to replace the disbanded Melbourne Rebels side, to maintain a 9-match tour for the Lions.[2] The team was to be made up of indigenous Australian and Pacific Islands heritage players, with the match scheduled to take place on 22 July 2025 at the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne. It was aimed that the team would be made up of New Zealand All Blacks internationals that were playing abroad, and ineligible otherwise to play international rugby for the All Blacks.[2]
On 19 May, former Wallabies forward and Tonga head coach Toutai Kefu was named head coach,[4] whilst on 26 May, Glen Ella, Sekope Kepu, Simon Raiwalui and Tana Umaga were named assistants.[5] On 26 June, it was announced that the former Australian international Kurtley Beale would be the captain of the team.[6] The jersey was chosen as a result of a public vote run by Rugby Australia.[7][8]
Squad
The full First Nations & Pasifika XV squad for their match against the British & Irish Lions as part of the 2025 tour of Australia was named on 14 July 2025.[9] Some of the players selected had previously played against the Lions on the tour for the AUNZ Invitational XV.[10] It also features the first Fijian internationals to play against the Lions since they played against the Fiji national rugby union team in the 1977 British Lions tour to New Zealand.[10]
On 17 July, Filipo Daugunu and Taniela Tupou were released from the Wallabies squad for the tour match, whilst Ponepati Loganimasi also received a late call-up following the conclusion of the Fijian national team's July internationals.[11]
Coaching team:
- Head coach:
Toutai Kefu (
Tonga) - Assistant coach:
Tana Umaga (
Samoa) - Assistant coach:
Simon Raiwalui ( Fiji) - Assistant coach: Glen Ella (
First Nations)
