Fiji national rugby league team

Fiji

Team information
Nickname	Fiji Bati
Governing body	Fiji National Rugby League
Region	Asia-Pacific
Head coach	Joe Dakuitoga
Captain	Kevin Naiqama
Most caps	Akuila Uate (18)
Top try-scorer	Akuila Uate (14)
Top point-scorer	Wes Naiqama (132)
Home stadium	National Stadium
IRL ranking	5th
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First international
Western Samoa 32–18 Fiji  (Apia, Samoa; 1992)
Biggest win
Fiji 72–6 Wales  (Townsville, Australia; 5 November 2017)
Biggest defeat
Australia 84–14 Fiji  (Marathon Stadium, Newcastle; 12 July 1994)
World Cup
Appearances	5 (first time in 1995)
Best result	Semi-finals, 2008, 2013, 2017

The Fiji national rugby league team, nicknamed the Bati (pronounced [mˈbatʃi]), has been participating in international rugby league football since 1992. The team is controlled by the governing body for rugby league in Fiji, Fiji National Rugby League (FNRL), which is currently a member of the Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation (APRLC). Fiji have thrice reached the semi-finals of the Rugby League World Cup, in 2008, 2013 and 2017, and are currently ranked 5th in the International Rugby League's World Rankings. They are coached by Fijian Joe Dakuitoga, who was appointed in August 2020,^[1] and their captain is Kevin Naiqama.

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 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 France 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 Tonga. 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.^[2] 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[]

Primary

1992–1995

1995 World Cup

2008 World Cup

Players[]

Current squad[]

17 man squad vs PNG Kumuls for the 2019 Pacific Test.^[3]

Pos.	Player	Club
Fullback	Sitiveni Moceidreke	Sunshine Coast Falcons
Wing	Maika Sivo	Parramatta Eels
Centre	Taane Milne	New Zealand Warriors
Centre	Brayden Wiliame	Catalan Dragons
Wing	Suliasi Vunivalu	Melbourne Storm
Five-eighth	Kevin Naiqama	St Helens
Halfback	Brandon Wakeham	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Prop	Kane Evans	Parramatta Eels
Hooker	Joe Lovodua	St George Illawarra Dragons
Prop	Tui Kamikamica	Melbourne Storm
Second-row	Viliame Kikau	Penrith Panthers
Second-row	Ben Nakubuwai	Salford Red Devils
Lock	D'Rhys Miller	Wentworthville Magpies
Second-row	Lamar Manuel-Liolevave	Tweed Heads Seagulls
Halfback	Joseph Ratuvakacereivalu	Western Suburbs Magpies
Second-row	King Vuniyayawa	New Zealand Warriors
Halfback	Penioni Tagituimua

2021 Player Pool[]

NRL[]

Super League[]

Tournament history and world ranking[]

IRL World Rankings v t
Official Men's Rankings as of July 2021
Rank	Change*	Team	Pts%
1	2	New Zealand
2	1	Australia
3	1	England
4		Tonga
5		Fiji
6	4	Papua New Guinea
7		Samoa
8	2	France
9	1	Scotland
10	1	Lebanon
11	5	Greece
12		Ireland
13	1	Italy
14	3	Wales
15	4	Serbia
16	1	Malta
17	1	Norway
18	3	United States
19	4	Poland
20	7	Jamaica
21	1	Hungary
22	3	Czech Republic
23	5	Cook Islands
24	7	Turkey
25	1	Netherlands
26	4	Spain
27	6	Canada
28		Nigeria
29	2	Solomon Islands
30	10	Sweden
31	4	Germany
32	1	Chile
33		Ghana
34	16	Morocco
35	3	Vanuatu
36		South Africa
37	8	Russia
38		Cameroon
39	2	Ukraine
40	1	Colombia
41	4	Brazil
42		Belgium
43	4	Denmark
44	4	Bulgaria
45	4	Latvia
*Change from July 2019

Rugby League World Cup[]

World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	D
1995	Group Stage	6/10	3	1	2	0
2000	Group Stage	12/16	3	1	2	0
2008	Semi-finals	4/10	4	2	2	0
2013	Semi-finals	4/14	5	2	3	0
2017	Semi-finals	4/14	5	4	1	0
2021		0/0	0	0	0	0
Total	0 Titles	4/13	20	10	10	0

Four Nations[]

Four Nations record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	D
2009	Not Invited
2010	Failed to Qualify
2011	Not Invited
2014	Failed to Qualify
2016	Not Invited
Total	0 Titles	0/5	0	0	3	0

Pacific Cup[]

Pacific Cup record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	D
1992	Group Stage	9/10	4	1	3	0
1994	Second Place	2/10	6	4	2	0
1997	Group Stage	5/6	3	0	2	1
2004	Group Stage	4/6	2	1	1	0
2006	Second Place	2/6	3	2	1	0
2009	Semi-finals	3/5	2	1	1	0
Total	0 Titles	6/12	20	9	10	1

Other competitions[]

Fiji have also participated in:

• World Sevens (1992–2003)
• Super League World Nines (1996,1997)
• Superleague Oceania Tournament (1997)
• Pacific Rim Competition (2004)

International Results[]

The table below shows Fiji's all-time international rugby league record as of 18 December 2020.^[4] They have been participating in International fixtures since 1992.^[5]

Country	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
American Samoa	1	1	0	0	100%	16	14	+2
Australia	6	0	0	6	0%	16	336	–320
Australian Aboriginies	1	1	0	0	100%	21	20	+1
Canada	1	1	0	0	100%	26	12	+14
Cook Islands	12	6	1	5	50%	327	201	+126
England	3	0	0	3	0%	22	146	–124
England Knights	1	1	0	0	100%	44	8	+36
France	2	2	0	0	100%	62	18	+44
Great Britain	1	0	0	1	0%	4	72	–68
Ireland	2	2	0	0	100%	62	28	+34
Italy	1	1	0	0	100%	38	10	+28
Lebanon	4	2	0	2	50%	118	118	0
Māori	1	0	0	1	0%	12	32	–20
New Zealand	1	1	0	0	100%	4	2	+2
New Zealand XIII	1	1	0	0	100%	34	16	+18
Niue	2	1	0	1	50%	34	38	–4
Papua New Guinea	12	4	0	8	33.33%	182	281	–99
Rotuma	1	1	0	0	100%	32	12	+20
Russia	1	1	0	0	100%	38	12	+26
Samoa	12	8	0	4	66.67%	274	184	+90
Scotland	1	0	0	1	0%	16	18	–2
South Africa	1	1	0	0	100%	52	6	+46
Tonga	13	5	1	7	38.46%	221	296	–75
United States	1	1	0	0	100%	58	12	+46
Wales	1	1	0	0	100%	72	6	+66
Total	83	42	2	39	50.6%	1785	1898	–113

Recent Results[]

Below are the previous 5 matches of the national team.

See also[]

• Fiji National Rugby League Competition
• Fiji women's national rugby league team
• Fiji National Rugby League
• Rugby league in Fiji

References[]

External links[]

• Google-Video
• Fiji Rugby League Fans Forums - RugbyLeague.org
• 2008 Rugby League World Cup Site