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With the 16th edition of the Pacific Nations Cup 2025 getting underway in August, which sees the USA and Canada from North America, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji from the Pacific, as well as Japan competing, The Flying Fijians will be aiming to defend the title they won last year, which was their first since 2018.
They will open their PNC account at home in Suva on 30 August against Tonga and will be looking for a strong start against a side which has yet to play a Test in 2025.
Fiji Men’s Head Coach Mick Byrne has in the preparation phase, raised two key issues that he says continue to affect Pacific Island rugby sides, but they are hardly new issues.
Byrne said that with the bulk of the Pacific Island national team players based in Europe, the likes of Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga have shorter preparation times and smaller squads, which "makes it very difficult for us to get ahead".
Surely one of the missions of having the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika form and compete in the Super Rugby Pacific was to help develop talent and have players closer to home bases, at least for Fiji and Samoa?
Byrne argues that the comparatively short preparation times for teams competing in the PNC, and July internationals, compared to Rugby World Cup preparations. However, the French national team would argue they are in the same boat when it comes to the July internationals, as their domestic Top 14 finals often overlap with tours, hence their tendency to send under-strength sides to the Southern hemisphere.
South Africa would also have the same argument about players selected for national duty being scattered across the globe, with players based with clubs in Japan, France, England, Ireland, Wales and in South Africa in the mix.
Byrne said that for the recent loss to the Wallabies on 6 July, they could only start preparing the week before, but they still pushed the Australians all the way, and some would say, were unfortunate to have lost the encounter.
They only played twice in the July internationals, and following the victory over Scotland, several members of the Flying Fijians returned to their various clubs, including in France and the United Kingdom.
"I've spoken to World Rugby at a World Rugby coaching conference over in Sydney earlier in the year, where I raised the issue around you know, our teams perform well at World Cups because we get a five or six week window to prepare before we go to a World Cup.
We should have those windows all the time. But you know, it's a cost, and it's an expense, and at the moment, it's being pushed on to the unions…We've got to fly players in from all over the world. So it is a challenge."
The squad reassembles in camp in Suva in mid-August to prepare for their Pacific Nations Cup opener on 30 August, and World Rugby usually stipulates total squad numbers of 32-33. For the PNC, teams are only allowed 28 players.
“I don't understand why the PNC organisers are making it so difficult for the islands to get ahead, and I'm really annoyed with that. The fact is, I've been told I can select 28 players, but if I get a player injured and I have to replace him, I have to replace him for the whole tournament, and our depth just doesn't go like that.”
I am not sure his arguments are totally fair but they should be considered. The ongoing competition gives these competing teams vital Test matches and this year in particular has added importance with the Rugby World Cup qualifications, even though that's one headache Fiji doesn't need to contend with.
He added, "And I'm not sure who the PNC think they are when they put these sort of restrictions on struggling organisations like Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. I'm sure the USA and Canada are in the same boat, but the USA are playing in the USA. So you know, at the end of the day, when we get to a final series, we gotta travel. We gotta fly people over to replace them for one week. It just makes it very difficult for us to get ahead."
These sentiments had also been raised by Tonga's head coach, Tevita Tuifua. They are in a more difficult position as they have no Tests under their belt this calendar year and still need to secure RWC 2027 qualification.
Despite the challenges, Mick Byrne says the team has shown significant improvement and believes they are on the right track heading into the Pacific Nations Cup.
He cited improvements in their defence and contact in the two matches thus far and said focal areas for the PNC will be breakdown and reducing handling errors.
Following the PNC, Fiji are due to play England, France and Spain in their end-of-year November 2025 tour.
