Mataiasi Stark 
Fiji Bulikula head coach Joe Dakuitoga says the focus for this year’s World Cup qualifiers is on consistency and development.
After last year’s campaign, which featured a promising start but ended in a narrow loss to Samoa, Dakuitoga is opting to retain the core of young players who were part of that squad.
He believes that maintaining a stable team will give Fiji a better chance of success at the 2026 Women’s Rugby League World Cup.
“If you look at the team last year, they were all young players. So we’d rather keep the core of those young players to be part of the process to the 2026 World Cup rather than keep on changing players every year.”
The head coach added that the team will continue to scout talent from both Australia and Fiji, with plans to blend the best available players for a strong and united campaign.
The Fiji Bulikula will face Canada in the semi-finals of the inaugural IRL Women’s Rugby League World Series on October 21st at Terry Fox Stadium in Brampton, Canada.
The winner of this match will advance to the grand final on October 26th at Lamport Stadium in Toronto, where they will compete for a spot in the 2026 IRL Women’s Rugby League World Cup.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
