The Fiji Rugby Union and the Fijian Drua today announce the appointment of renowned Flying Fijians Kele Leawere and Seremaia Bai to the coaching staff of the Rooster Chicken Fijian Drua Women.
Leawere and Bai who boasts 78 Flying Fijians caps between them joins as Senior Assistant Coach for Drua Women/Vodafone Fijiana 15s, and Assistant Coach for the Drua Women respectively, assisting Moses Rauluni in his head coach’s role.
A former Flying Fijians Captain, Leawere has coaching experience at both provincial and national levels following his illustrious playing career where he earned 25 caps. In his most recent role, Leawere oversaw FRU’s High Performance Unit as an Academy Coach. He was a Fijiana 15s assistant coach in 2016 for the Oceania World Cup Qualifiers and Assistant Coach of the Drua Women last season. Leawere is also involved in player development as the Fiji U20 Head Coach in 2019. Locally, he coached Navosa and Nadroga in the Vanua Championship and Skipper Cup respectively.
Former national flyhalf Bai, who racked up 53 appearances and 321 points in the famous white and black jersey was as an Assistant Coach for the Flying Fijians at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. He has experience as head coach with the Fijiana 15s (2015), Easter Saints Rugby Club(2020), Suva Rugby 10s, Fiji Rugby Academy U18 7s, Nasinu Provincial, and Lelean Memorial School Under-19 (2017 Deans Secondary Schools competition).
Fiji Rugby Union Board of Trustees Chairman Peter Mazey said: “These are exciting times for the development of our women’s programme and we will continue to progress our best athletes into full-time professionals. Kele and Seremaia have a massive role to play in this regard their past experiences with mentoring, player development and coaching.”
Fijian Drua CEO Mark Evans said: “We want to ensure our female players continue their glittering reputation of Super Rugby Women champions. We want to provide the women’s programme with the best possible resources and coaches are a big part of that. To continue their development, they need experienced hands guiding them. With Moses Rauluni at the helm assisted by Kele, Bai and other quality support staff, they’ll be able to perform at their very best at both levels of competition. The two Assistant Coaches are highly regarded in the rugby community, making them a perfect fit for their individual roles.”
The Fijian Drua Women’s team will kick off their 2024 Super Rugby Women campaign on Sunday March 17 at Brisbane’s Ballymore Stadium against the Queensland Reds.
