Fiji national rugby league team

History

1990s

The game was introduced to Fiji only in 1992 but despite this there has been a long history of Fijian players making their mark in rugby league, most notably back in the 1960s when great players such as Joe Levula and Laitia Ravouvou joined Rochdale Hornets and became household names in the English competition.

Interest and participation in rugby league snowballed throughout Fiji, and as well as continued success in the Rugby League World Sevens, the Batis began playing full 13-aside games against international teams. By 1994, Fiji had hammered the Great Britain amateurs 40–8 and, captained by mighty front-rower James Pickering, beat 20–12.

They had also produced their first rugby league superstar after winger Noa Nadruku joined Canberra Raiders and in 1993 became the top try-scorer in the Australian competition.

Fiji took part in their first World Cup in 1995 where, just as the 2000 World Cup, they had the misfortune to be placed in the same group as both England and Australia. But the Batis made a massive impression in their opening World Cup game in which they ran riot against South Africa, 52–6, and had the crowd on their feet at Keighley.

During the Super League war, Fiji, like most countries other countries, aligned itself with Super League. In search of international competition, the Australian Rugby League played a match against a "National Rugby League of Fiji" team in 1996. This match has been granted Test status by the ARL, but not by the Rugby League International Federation.

2000s

Coached by Don Furner, Sr. and captained by Lote Tuqiri, Fiji competed in the 2000 World Cup but did not progress past the tournament's group stage.

The Fiji Bati qualified for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup held in Australia after finishing second in Pacific qualifying behind . Fiji's qualification campaign started with a thrilling 30–28 loss to Samoa before reversing the scoreline a few days later with a 30–28 win over the Tongans. Fiji won their final qualifying game against Cook Islands 40–4. Having qualified the Vodafone Fiji Bati team started their Rugby League World Cup 2008 campaign with 42–6 win over France followed by a 2-point defeat to Scotland, however they topped their group with a superior points difference. Beating Ireland in their quarter final they came within one match of the World Cup final, but were defeated by Australia, ending the tournament in 4th place.

2010s

Fiji automatically qualified for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup after participating in the 2008 tournament. They took on Australia, England and Ireland in the pool stage. In their first match they took on 'the Wolfhounds'. They played at the famous Spotland Stadium, in Rochdale, where Fiji have an historic affiliation with. The Fijians convincingly won by a score of 32–14. As expected Fiji lost to both Australia and England, although they surprised many, as they only conceded 34 points against the teams in each game and they led 2–0 against Australia, and were within a few minutes of taking a half-time lead against England. Fiji would take on 'fierce Pacific rivals' Samoa in the quarter-final. They won the, passionate pacific, fixture and they would celebrate with a 22–4 victory. They celebrated even more, as it meant Fiji reached their second consecutive World Cup semi-final. They took on Australia again, but this game was nothing like the group stage fixture. Fiji's errors conceded them 62 points against a classy Australian side. This defeat ended and equalled their best World Cup campaign in their history.

In May 2014, Fiji took on Samoa in the 2014 Pacific Rugby League Test at Penrith Stadium. The International was created as a qualifier for the final 2014 Four Nations spot. It was also a chance for the Four Nations team (winner of this international) to warm-up before the event kicked off later in the year. Fiji failed to qualify with their fierce pacific rivals getting the better of them by 32–16.

In May 2015, Fiji took on Papua New Guinea in the 2015 Melanesian Cup test at Cbus Super Stadium. Fiji won the match and the inaugural Melanesian Cup title. Fiji never looked like losing the match after an easy first half performance, leading 18-0 at the break. They went on to win the test match by 22–10.

In May 2016, Fiji took on Papua New Guinea in the 2016 Melanesian Cup test at Pirtek Stadium. Fiji had a similar situation in this year's Melanesian Cup with a half-time score of 16–8 but this time around they conceded too many second half points allowing the Kumuls to make a shock comeback and win the match 24–22.

In the 2017 Rugby League World Cup in New Zealand & Australia, Fiji topped Group D before recording their biggest upset victory, defeating New Zealand 4–2 in the quarter-finals. They then lost to Australia 54–6 in the semi-finals.

2020s

Fiji automatically qualified for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup having reached the semi-finals of the previous Rugby League World Cup. The 2021 tournament will take place in England.

Kit

Kit suppliers and sponsors

Players

Current squad

A squad of 25 players selected for the 2025 Pacific Championships was announced on 3 October 2025 on social media. On 9 October, a revised squad of 20 players was announced. Jersey numbers in the table reflect team selection for the Round 3 match versus PNG Kumuls Statistics in the table are drawn from the website, Rugby League Project. They include the match versus the PNG Kumuls on 1 November 2025.

Notes:

• Age is as at the last update, 5 October 2025, where known.
• Clubs outside the NRL and Super League are shaded in the above table.
• Mark Nawaqanitawase was bracketed with Ronald Philitoga to mitigate for the possibility, which transpired, that he was selected for the 2025 Kangaroo tour of England.
• The squad revision saw the addition of Michael Jennings and Penioni Tagituimua.
• The seven players to drop out of the squad were current NRL players Samuela Fainu and Sione Fainu (both Wests Tigers), Waqa Blake (Bradford Bulls) and state cup players Josese Lanyon (Wests Tigers, 1 NSW Cup match, mostly a Jersey Flegg player in 2025), Newtown Jets pair Jordin Leiu and Meli Nasau, and Joseph Litdamu (Western Clydesdales)
• Gabriel Tunimakubu, captain of the Kaiviti Silktails in the 2025 Jersey Flegg Cup for Under 21 players, was called into the squad to replace the injured Ben Nakubuwai.
• Several players were selected from under 21 feeder teams of NRL clubs:
  • Solomone Saukuru (Wests Tigers, NSW Jersey Flegg Cup)
  • Akuila Qoro (Kaiviti Silktails, NSW Jersey Flegg Cup)
  • Jope Rauqe (Canterbury Bulldogs, NSW Jersey Flegg Cup)
  • Michael Waqa (Brisbane Broncos, NRLQ Series)
• Two players were selected from Queensland Cup teams:
  • Norths Devils: Ben Nakubuwai
  • Wynnum Manly Seagulls: Ronald Philitoga
• One player was selected from Fiji based club:
  • Navy Albatross: Keresi Maya
• One player was selected from the third tier Ron Massey Cup:
  • [[File:2024_St_Marys_Saints_Colours.png|frameless|16x16px]] St Marys Saints: Michael Jennings. In addition to previously playing for Australia (7), Tonga (10) and New South Wales (18),Jennings had represented the NRL All Stars (3), Prime Minister's XIII (4), and NSW City (4).
• Penioni Tagituimua was the only member of the squad to play for the Fiji Prime Minister's XIII in 2019.

Records

• Bold- denotes that the player is still active.

Most capped players

Top try scorers

Top points scorers

Competitive record

Main article: List of Fiji national rugby league team results

The table below shows Fiji's all-time international rugby league record as of 21 October 2024. They have been participating in International fixtures since 1992.

Rugby League World Cup

Four Nations

Pacific Cup

Margins and streaks

Biggest winning margins

Biggest losing margins

IRL Rankings

References

References

1. "NOQU MASU - Fiji Bati's Pre Game Hymn — thecoconet.tv - the world's largest hub of Pacific Island content.uu".
2. (28 January 2022). "Historic win for Bati". [[Fiji Times]].
3. (2 May 2015). "Fiji vs. PNG 2015 Melanesian Cup". Nrl.com.
4. (3 Oct 2025). "Fiji Bati - Pacific Championships 2025". FNRL.
5. (9 Oct 2025). "Kamikamica to lead Bati at Pacific Championships".
6. (9 Oct 2025). "Locked In". FNRL.
7. (6 Oct 2025). "Kangaroos squad for Ashes Tour".
8. Basiyalo, Taina. (12 Oct 2025). "Silktails skipper gets Fiji Bati call up".
9. (14 Oct 2025). "Pacific Championships Team Lists: Week 1".
10. "Head to Head".
11. "Fiji Head to Head".