Fiji Rugby has officially joined the ranks of Tier 1 nations.
And while speaking at the press conference in Suva yesterday, Fiji Water Flying Fijians Head Coach Mick Byrne said the onus was now on the national body and the team to step up and deliver what is expected of a Tier 1 team.
“We are now part of The Nations Cup which is a combination of those two competitions so we now need to step up as an organisation and as a group of players.”
“We are going to have to address the fact that we are now Tier One and everything that we are doing as an organization and as a group must reflect that as we look at the next window of opportunity to present Fiji rugby to the world.”
With the inclusion of Fiji into the Tier One category, they will now participate in the The Nations Cup from 2026.
“As of next year, we are in the The Nations Cup. There has been a debate over the years whether the The Rugby Championship is better than the Six Nations and I’ve been lucky enough to coach in both environments and both a world class. The Six Nations is a tribal competition and The Rugby Championship is exciting when it comes to life on game day.”
“We are excited about the future of the game for our Flying Fijians. Over the past few years we have been given 1 or 2 opportunities to play Tier 1 nations team and its been a challenge for us and also exciting and as Master Naca mentioned we are now in that arena.”
Fiji now joins Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, South Africa, France, Scotland, and Argentina.
