The Rugby Factory Academy

BUILDING THE PATHWAY — FROM RURAL ROOTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE 🏉🇫🇯

High performance should not be limited by location. The Rugby Factory Academy is committed to bringing structured coaching, strength & conditioning, athlete education, leadership, and performance development closer to athletes in our rural and remote communities.

We believe the next generation of Fiji’s rugby stars can come from anywhere — from a village field to the biggest international stage.

Our mission is simple: build the environment, develop the athlete, create the pathway, and open the door to opportunity.

🌱 Grassroots → High Performance → Provincial → National → International

The Rugby Factory Academy — Building Athletes. Building Pathways. Building the Future.

In Loving Memory & Gratitude — Ms. Moira Rodan

VINAKA VAKALEVU, MS. MOIRA. 🕊️💙

The Rugby Factory Academy wishes to honour and sincerely acknowledge the incredible contribution of the late Ms. Moira Rodan (RIP), whose support, guidance and belief played an important role in the establishment, foundation and continued development of our Academy.

From the very beginning, Ms. Moira was more than a supporter. She was someone who believed in the vision, encouraged the journey and contributed to building a strong foundation for what The Rugby Factory Academy is today and what it continues to aspire to become.

We also acknowledge her personal guidance and support towards our Founder and Director, Mr. Selo Sanawa, particularly in helping him navigate a smooth transition and pathway within his sports career and into the high-performance environment. Her mentorship and encouragement have left a lasting impact.

Ms. Moira also played an important role in introducing the TAFISA Sports for All programme in Fiji. Through this initiative, the Academy was able to be part of the Level 1 and Level 2 programmes last year, with the second phase continuing this year.

Her contribution to sport, education, research, athlete development and the wider sporting community will always be remembered.

Ms. Moira, your work may have been done quietly, but your impact will continue to speak loudly through the people, programmes and pathways you helped build.

From everyone at The Rugby Factory Academy:

Vina Valevu, Ms. Moira. ❤️

Thank you for believing in us.
Thank you for your guidance.
Thank you for your contribution.
Thank you for helping shape our journey.

You are surely missed. The Rugby Factory Academy misses you, your guidance, your presence and all that you contributed to our Academy.

May you Rest in Eternal Peace. 🕊️

Your legacy lives on through the work we continue to do.

VINAKA VAKALEVU, MS. MOIRA.
Toso tiko ga na Rugby Factory Academy — ena yacamu kei na nomu legacy. 🇫🇯🏉

Axellerate Sports Fiji National Sports Commission Vanua Visuals Production

A New Chapter Begins! 🤝🏉

The Rugby Factory Academy is proud to welcome Axellerate Sports as our Official Apparel Partner.

Together, we’re committed to developing the next generation of athletes through excellence, innovation, and performance.

One Academy. One Brand. One Vision.
We Breed Our Own. 🔥

Official Partnership Announced 🤝🏉

The Rugby Factory Academy is proud to welcome Axellerate Sports as our Official Apparel Partner.

Today’s MoU signing marks the beginning of a partnership committed to developing the next generation of athletes through excellence, innovation, and performance.

Together, we build the future. 💛🖤

A proud milestone in the journey of The Rugby Factory Academy. 🏉🤝

Today marks the beginning of an exciting partnership with Axellerate Sports as the Official Apparel Partner of The Rugby Factory Academy.

I’m truly grateful to the Axellerate team for believing in the vision, the purpose, and the work we’re doing to develop the next generation of Fijian athletes. This partnership is about more than apparel—it’s about investing in people, empowering young leaders, and building a stronger future for sport in Fiji.

Thank you for your trust and support. Together, we’ll continue creating opportunities, raising standards, and helping our athletes reach their full potential both on and off the field.

The journey continues. 🚀

Vinaka vakalevu, Axellerate!

Vusu Raiders Rugby League Ratu Filise Rugby Club OrganicPlus Fiji Fiji One ONOC FNRL Fiji Rugby The Navosa Rugby Union

Proud to officially partner with Axellerate Sports as the Official Apparel Partner of The Rugby Factory Academy. 🏉🤝

Together, we’re committed to developing the next generation of Fijian athletes and raising the standard of high performance.

The journey continues. Vinaka vakalevu, Axellerate!

⚠️ Fiji Doesn’t Have a Talent Problem—It Has a Pathway Problem 🏉 (Long Read Ahead ‼️)

High-performance success is built from the ground up, not the top down. Fiji has never lacked talent—that has been evident for generations. The real question is whether we have evolved the systems responsible for developing, monitoring and retaining that talent. If we are serious about achieving sustained international success, our greatest investment must be in the foundation of the player pathway.

When examining the world’s leading rugby nations, one pattern consistently stands out: successful national teams are supported by exceptional development systems.

New Zealand and South Africa possess arguably the strongest school rugby competitions in the world. These competitions are far more than annual championships—they are high-performance environments that identify, develop and prepare future professionals long before they enter elite rugby. They serve as the engine room of their player development systems.

France has built its success through professional academies that provide structured, long-term athlete development. The United Kingdom operates a hybrid model that combines elite school competitions with professional club academies, while Japan has traditionally relied on one of the strongest university rugby systems in the world. Beyond player development, Japan’s university pathway also helped integrate overseas talent into its national programme under previous World Rugby eligibility rules. Although eligibility has since increased from three to five years, the principle remains the same: invest in a domestic pathway that consistently produces international-standard players.

I make these observations with the utmost respect for Fiji’s secondary schools, having come through that system myself. The Deans Trophy remains one of our country’s proudest sporting institutions, and every year we celebrate the passion, quality and tradition it represents.

However, from a high-performance perspective, we must ask a more important question:

Are we measuring success by the quality of the competition, or by the quality of the outcomes it consistently produces?

This is where a gap begins to emerge.

Each year, the standout players and successful teams from the Deans Trophy form the core of Fiji’s Under-20 programme. Yet those domestic performances have not consistently translated into comparable success on the international stage. This is not a criticism of our schools, players or coaches. Rather, it highlights that an outstanding school competition alone does not automatically create an outstanding high-performance pathway.

Recent results reinforce this reality. Across the last five World Rugby U20 cycles, Fiji has not achieved a top-10 finish. Fiji only participated in three of those tournaments—one was cancelled because of COVID-19, while another followed Fiji’s relegation from the Championship. These results do not reflect a shortage of talent. Instead, they suggest a disconnect between the strength of our schools competition and the effectiveness of our national development system.

If the Deans Trophy consistently supplies the majority of our Fiji Under-20 squad, then the obvious question becomes:

Why are those performances not consistently translating to international success?

That is the gap Fiji Rugby must bridge—not by demanding more from schools, but by creating a more connected, integrated and accountable pathway between schools rugby and the national high-performance programme.

The opportunity is not necessarily to improve the Deans competition itself, but to strengthen what happens after it.

The transition from school rugby into elite age-grade rugby is arguably the most important stage of Fiji’s player pathway. Through aligned coaching philosophies, athlete monitoring, physical preparation, skill development and long-term player tracking, the success celebrated on school grounds can be converted into sustained international performance.

For Fiji, however, the challenge extends beyond development.

The real question is not simply how we produce talented players—it is how we develop, monitor and retain those players within a system that continues to benefit Fiji Rugby.

Each year, many of our most promising schoolboy players are recruited into overseas academies. That investment is positive, as those organisations provide world-class coaching and professional environments. The challenge is not the opportunity itself—it is maintaining meaningful connection with those athletes throughout their development.

Without effective player monitoring and engagement, the Deans Trophy risks becoming a showcase for overseas recruitment rather than the foundation of Fiji’s future national teams.

That leads to another important question:

Is the Deans Trophy developing players for Fiji, or identifying players for the rest of the world?

The answer is not to discourage overseas opportunities. Instead, Fiji Rugby must build a system that continues to support, monitor and engage these players throughout their professional journey, ensuring Fiji remains their first choice when international opportunities arise.

There is also another part of the conversation that deserves greater attention—rugby league.

Rather than viewing rugby league as a competing code, Fiji should recognise it as a complementary development pathway.

Many secondary school athletes spend Term 1 playing rugby league before transitioning into rugby union during Term 2. From a high-performance perspective, this provides valuable benefits. Players accumulate more competitive match experience, refine technical skills over a longer season and enter the union calendar with improved conditioning, confidence and game awareness.

This continuity should not be resisted—it should be understood and, where appropriate, embraced.

The influence of rugby league on modern rugby union is impossible to ignore. Many contemporary tactical developments have either originated from or been heavily influenced by rugby league, including attacking shapes built around block runners and decoy lines, as well as law innovations such as the 50:22 kick and goal-line drop-outs that encourage attacking rugby and territorial play.

It is therefore no surprise that some of the world’s leading rugby union coaches have rugby league backgrounds. Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell and renowned defence coach Shaun Edwards are prime examples of how rugby league thinking has shaped the modern international game.

For Fiji, the discussion should never be rugby union versus rugby league.

The discussion should be how both codes can work together to develop better athletes for Fiji.

If managed strategically, rugby league can become an extension of Fiji’s overall player development system rather than a competitor to it. The objective of every high-performance programme is the same: develop more skilful players, better decision-makers and physically prepared athletes—regardless of which code first accelerated those qualities.

Ultimately, Fiji does not have a talent problem.

Fiji has a pathway design challenge.

High-performance success depends on systems that consistently identify, develop and retain talent. Strengthen the connection between schools rugby and the elite pathway. Improve athlete monitoring and retention. Build stronger alignment between schools, academies and national programmes. Embrace complementary development opportunities such as rugby league.

Do that, and Fiji will have solved a significant part of its long-term performance equation.

Sustained international success is rarely built on exceptional generations of players.

It is built on exceptional systems that continue producing them.

The greatest competitive advantage in world rugby will never belong to the nation with the most talent. It will belong to the nation with the best-designed system to identify, develop and retain that talent.

🇳🇿🇳🇿

Kikau Backs Mick Potter’s Return as Fiji Bati Coach

Fiji Bati star Viliame Kikau has welcomed the return of Mick Potter as head coach, backing the experienced mentor to guide the national side to success at the 2026 Rugby League World Cup and beyond.

The appointment was confirmed by Fiji National Rugby League (FNRL) Executive Chairman Rajesh Singh, who announced that Potter would not only lead the Bati at RLWC 2026 but also oversee the development of rugby league pathways in Fiji as part of a long-term commitment.

Potter previously guided Fiji to one of the nation’s greatest rugby league achievements, masterminding the famous 4-2 quarter-final victory over New Zealand at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup before leading the Bati to the semi-finals.

Singh believes Potter’s experience and understanding of Fijian players can help the team create more history.

“Mick Potter was the coach when Fiji beat the Kiwis in the 2017 World Cup, and hopefully, we will create some history again. With a coach of his calibre, I believe he can build the players quickly and hopefully create history once more.”

Potter is expected to relocate to Fiji once his work permit is approved and begin preparations for the World Cup campaign.

Kikau, who made his Test debut during the 2017 World Cup and is now one of the senior leaders in the squad, praised Potter’s coaching style.

“Mick is a great coach. He knows how to communicate and work with us Fijians. He keeps things simple, especially when players come from different clubs and systems. That makes it easier for everyone to understand the game plan.”

Reflecting on the famous victory over New Zealand in Wellington, Kikau said belief has always been a strength of the Fiji Bati.

“We’ve reached the semi-finals in three of the last four World Cups, so the belief has always been there. We prepared well, stayed united, and remembered we were playing for the people of Fiji. That motivation carried us through.”

Several members of that historic 2017 squad remain available, including Api Koroisau, Jacob Saifiti, and Tui Kamikamica, while former captain Kevin Naiqama is expected to join Potter’s coaching staff.

The current Bati squad has also been strengthened with emerging talents such as Jahream Bula, Kurt Donoghoe, Kitione Kautoga, and the Fainu brothers (Latu, Samuela and Sione), who are awaiting eligibility clearance.

Despite the growing talent, Kikau believes Fiji will once again embrace the underdog tag.

“This World Cup we’re flying under the radar. There are plenty of new faces, but they’ve built good combinations through recent Test matches. We’d love to be seen as the underdogs because that’s when we play our best.”

With a proven coach returning, experienced leaders guiding the squad, and exciting young talent emerging, the Fiji Bati will head into the 2026 Rugby League World Cup determined to challenge the world’s best and write another memorable chapter in Fijian rugby league history.

FNRL Vusu Raiders Rugby League Selo Sanawa Rajesh Singh Sivaniolo Varo