Mataiasi Stark 
[File Photo]
Swire Shipping Fijian Drua chief executive Mark Evans says the establishment of the Drua has had a major impact on the success and consistency of Fiji’s national rugby program.
Evans highlighted the strong connection between the Drua and the Fiji Water Flying Fijians, noting that many of the players currently on tour with the national team in Europe have either come through or played for the Drua.
“If you look at the Drua across the whole piece, it’s something like 32 boys touring Europe. I may be one or two out, but around 17 or 18 are either current or former Drua players in that squad.”
“One of the reasons the Drua was set up and it’s in our constitution, was to improve and support the performance of the national team.”
Evans added that the results speak for themselves, with the Flying Fijians maintaining one of their most consistent rankings in recent history.
“As we sit here today, the Flying Fijians are ranked ninth in the world. We’ve been ranked ninth for the past two or three years, which is the most consistent performance of any Fijian national team over that stretch of time. At one point, we even reached eighth in the world for about three weeks.”
He credited the Drua’s influence as a key part of Fiji Rugby’s continued growth and stability on the international stage.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
