Mataiasi Stark 
Flying Fijians head coach Mick Byrne has welcomed Fiji’s Rugby World Cup 2027 pool draw, describing it as both exciting and favourable as preparations begin for the expanded 24-team tournament in Australia.
Fiji has been grouped with Argentina, Spain and Canada in Pool C, a mix Byrne believes offers familiarity, opportunity and strong rugby match-ups.
“It’s exciting times, isn’t it? We’ve been waiting for this draw for a while now and all through November there was a lot of talk about the different pools. I thought it was a really well-organised and really well-done situation and I felt, ironically, who we’ve only played for and over 20 years ago. It’s a good pool for us.”
Byrne welcomed the chance to face two opponents Fiji has recent history with.
“We play Spain and Canada. We’ve played Spain twice in the last two years. We’ve played Canada regularly through PNC. We know a little bit about them and how they’re going and the improvement they’ve made over the last 12 months and the continued improvement they’ll make.”
He also highlighted the significance of meeting Argentina, one of the world’s most competitive sides.
“And Argentina is a good team for us. It’s a great opportunity to play against another team who likes to play rugby. There have been some great games. Argentina have played some great games over the last few years since they joined the Rugby Championship. It’s been great for Argentinian rugby, so I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to play them in the World Cup.”
With the Round of 16 introduced for the first time, Fiji’s pool offers a realistic path to the knockout stages, but Byrne insists the Flying Fijians will respect every opponent as they build toward 2027.
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