Former Fiji Flyhalf Seta Koroilagilagi has been appointed head coach of the newly established Ba Rugby Academy, the Ba Rugby Union (BRU) has confirmed.
Koroilagilagi, who played a key role in setting up the Western Saints Rugby Club, has been actively involved in youth rugby, particularly in developing Under-17 and Under-18 teams during this year’s BRU club season.
In his new role, he will look after 30 players selected from the Under-17 category in the Ba Tikina Championships.
“It is indeed an honour to be part of Ba Rugby’s important development programme,” Koroilagilagi said. “At Western Saints, I’ve been working with teenage players and they have always been our focus.”
“It is essential that our youths not only get proper rugby coaching but also mentoring so that they follow the right paths in their development years.”
“Coaches and teachers carry not only the responsibility to guide our youths but we also have the privilege of nurturing their exuberance and natural creativity.”
Koroilagilagi has been working closely with coaches from the eight Tikina teams to select the top 30 players for the programme.
BRU Secretary Gaby Kautoga said the Under-17 competition had proven “incredibly popular” and had raised the standard of age-grade rugby since the Vinod Patel Cup.
“The BRU Executive Committee were impressed with Seta’s application as well as his proven commitment to youth rugby, so he was the natural choice to head the Ba Rugby Academy,” Kautoga said.
