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Fijian Drua announce co-captains for first time as squad for 2025 revealed

Tevita Ikanivere of Fiji Drua during the round one Super Rugby Pacific match between the Blues and Fijian Drua at Semenoff Stadium, on February 24, 2024, in Whangarei, New Zealand. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

For the first time in the Fijian Drua’s short history, there will be co-captains leading the charge with Tevita Ikanivere and Frank Lomani set to share that honour. The experienced duo have been handed the leadership reins, with the Drua revealing their 41-man squad for 2025 on Tuesday.

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Ikanivere has served as the Drua’s captain in the past, having led the team with passion and intensity on multiple occasions over the past two seasons. The hooker also has the most Drua appearances in Super Rugby Pacific history with 38 caps.

With Ikanivere also taking on the role as co-captain of the Flying Fijians, including their history-making win over Wales on Monday morning, this appointment by the Drua won’t come as a surprise to many ahead of the club’s fourth season.

Lomani will share the role in 2025. The halfback is the most experienced Super Rugby player in the squad with 53 appearances, and 28 of those have been with the Drua. There are only two players in the 41-man group that have 100 Super Rugby Pacific points and he’s one of them.

“It is a very big honour and a pleasure for me to be chosen. I thank Jackso (Glen Jackson) for believing in my capabilities to help lead the team this year,” Ikanivere said in a statement.

Lomani added: “(I’m) really excited and pretty emotional because I didn’t really expect to be called up to be co-captain with Tex.

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“Three years into this competition and going onto the fourth year, this team has come a long way. And being there since year one, I’m excited to be here with the Drua.”

Flying Fijians enforcer Peni Ravai headlines the new recruits for the Dura in 2025 after a successful stint with the Queensland Reds. Ravai made 27 appearances for the Brisbane-based club, and he scored three tries for the Queensland team.

Inia Tabuavou joins the Drua from Racing 92 in France’s Top 14, Vuate Karawalevu returns to Fiji after some time with the NSW Waratahs, Olympic silver medallist Ponipate Loganimasi has also put pen to paper, and Joseva Tamani re-joins the club after a stint with Colomiers Rugby Club.

The Dura have farewelled centre Apisalome Vota, prop Jone Koroiduadua and midfielder Michael Naitokani. But, as coach Glen Jackson discussed, the Drua have pulled together a highly talented group for the upcoming campaign.

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“It’s a very well-balanced side. We haven’t lost many players from last year and the ones that we’ve brought in have experience, mostly from overseas,” Glen Jackson explained.

“You’ll see guys like Joe Tamani coming back from France – he gave us excitement for the first two years, and he missed the third year.

“So, we’ve a  good balance in what (is) still a very young team.”

Fijian Drua squad for 2025

PROPS: Haereiti Hetet, Emosi Tuqiri, Livai Natave, Peni Ravai, Mesake Doge, Samuele Tawake, Meli Tuni

HOOKER: Tevita Ikanivere (cc), Zuriel Togiatama, Mesulame Dolokoto

LOCK: Leone Rotuisolia, Te Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta, Mesake Vocevoce, Isoa Nasilasila, Sailosi Vukalokalo

BACKROW: Kitione Salawa, Elia Canakaivata, Meli Derenalagi, Joseva Tamani, Motikiai Murray, Etonia Waqa, Vilive Miramira

HALFBACK: Frank Lomani (cc), Simione Kuruvoli, Peni Matawalu, Philip Baselala

FLYHALF: Isikeli Rabitu, Caleb Muntz, Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, Kemu Valetini

CENTRE: Inia Tabuavou, Iosefo Masi, Tuidraki Samusamuvodre, Waqa Nalaga

BACK THREE: Junior Ratuva, Vuate Karawalevu, Selestino Ravutaumada, Ilaisa Droasese, Taniela Rakuro, Epeli Momo, Ponipate Loganimasi

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1 Comment
J
JW 9 days ago

Killer squad, going from strength to strength like Jaguares did. A big name star signing like Semi Radradra might not bolster them to that top level but it would bring a huge amount of excitement if they could get a signing like that in the next year or two.


Hope players like Kuruvoli, who had great games against Wales, Australia, and Georgia at 9 during the WC, and the young tens get plenty of game time as well.

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JW 2 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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