Mataiasi Stark 
The Flying Fijians’ ability to push some of the world’s top rugby nations has been one of the defining storylines of their 2025 campaign.
Competitive performances against Tier 1 giants and a successful Pacific Nations Cup run have strengthened confidence inside the camp.
Now, head coach Mick Byrne says the team is eager to build on that momentum as they prepare for a massive 2025 Nations Cup season.
“I think one of the highlights for us this year was our July window where we didn’t get a lot of training time together and we put in a good performance against Australia and unfortunately didn’t get across the line there but then beat Scotland.”
He added that their Pacific Nations Cup victory and strong end-of-year performances reinforced how far the team has come.
“Simi’s try that was disallowed under the post would have put us in front against England…and then 21 all against France. We were in good shape there.”
With Fiji now regularly challenging the world’s strongest sides, Byrne says the next chapter is about converting competitiveness into consistency.
“Knowing that we can compete with those teams, it’s an exciting opportunity to spend a good six months in preparation for Nations Cup.”
The Flying Fijians will assemble again next year for a campaign that Byrne hopes will set new standards for Fiji on the global stage.
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