The Swire Shipping Fijian Drua today announced the appointment of Alistair Rogers as the new Defence Coach ahead of the 2024 Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific season.
Rogers replaces Brad Harris who finished his tenure with the club after the completion of the 2023 season in July.
Rogers comes in with a stellar track record at first-class rugby and will be a valuable addition to Head Coach Mick Byrne’s coaching staff. He brings almost two decades of coaching and analysis experience to the Drua. He started out at the community level as Director of Rugby for Ireland’s Ballina Rugby Club in 2003 before moving to New Zealand in 2004 where he joined Wellington Rugby Union as an Analyst.
In 2008, Rogers progressed to the All Blacks as Analyst, and was part of the All Blacks setup through the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup wins. Rogers also has significant experience in Japan’s top league, most notably as Defence Coach for Toshiba Brave Lupus, where he joined the Drua, as well as Super Rugby Pacific where he was Senior Assistant Coach with the Blues (2015). Other previous roles include being a New Zealand Rugby High-Performance Coach and an advisor from Clermont Auvergne Rugby Club in France.
Fijian Drua CEO Mark Evans said: “Alistair brings with him excellent experience which will be important for us as we embark on our third season of Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific. Defence is an ongoing focus for us and our squad and organisation will benefit immensely from Alistair’s insights from working in the top competitions.”
Swire Shipping Fijian Drua Head Coach Mick Byrne added: “We’re thrilled to have Al join our coaching staff and look forward to achieving new heights with him as part of the team.”
Rogers officially starts with the Club today as the team heads into its second week of pre-season training.
