Fijian Drua players form a huddle during the round 11 Super Rugby Pacific match between the Drua and the Highlanders at ANZ Stadium. Photo / Getty Images
Ellis Park, Twickenham, Cardiff and Stade de France are common rugby bucket-list destinations.
While the professional rugby world continues to explore new ventures in its constant cash pursuit, Fiji is a humble, must-experience location for a timely reminder that authentic fandom matters.
From the villages to the many islands dotted in the Pacific that produce a plethora of global talent – Sevu Reece, Seta Tamanivalu, Waisake Naholo, Levani Botia, Lote Tuqiri to name a few – rugby is a religion in Fiji.
When the men’s sevens team captured Fiji’s first Olympic medal at the 2016 Rio Games, the country celebrated with a national holiday and the team’s English coach, Ben Ryan, replaced the Queen on the seven dollar note and 10 cent coin. The usual three-hour journey from Nadi to Suva swelled to nine hours as the team bus stopped in every village to share their success.
It’s no surprise, then, that Fiji Drua’s Super Rugby Pacific introduction has stolen hearts since their welcome into the elite echelon.
Now, amid their fourth campaign, the Drua continue to ride the crest of unwavering national support, despite their on-field struggles this season.
Two years ago, in the Drua’s first home meeting with the Crusaders in Lautoka, fans packed the stadium and clambered trees outside the venue to catch a glimpse of their idols.
When replacement first five-eighths Kemu Valetini slotted the match-winning penalty on full time, one of those trees broke and fell into the crowd. Such an instance is one snippet of the passionate following the Drua have cultivated from day one.
Welsh-born Drua chief executive Mark Evans recalls other examples such as the Drua hosting the Chiefs in Lautoka, with seven government ministers among the supporters.
“They panned to the crowd and asked ‘is anyone running the country,‘” Evans recounted.
“On one really hot steamy day in Lautoka one guy brought a bush from a tree and he held the trunk for the game. It’s those little things that make it special.”
Last weekend, I experienced this colourful, vibrant rugby atmosphere replicated in other aspects of Fijian life – such as their open-air buses filled with music and song, by attending the Drua hosting the Crusaders for the third time – on this occasion at HFC Bank Stadium which features views of the Suva coast.
Buoyant locals arrived two hours before kickoff with umbrellas in tow to shelter from the sweltering heat and humidity.
Unlike their two previous successes over the Crusaders in Fiji, this was not remotely the Drua’s day. Their lineout capitulated, and they could barely hold the ball in the first half.
Any other team down 31-0 would witness their crowd head for the exits early. Not the Drua, though. Fans waved flags – even cheering scrums – throughout. When the Drua finally responded with two late tries to replacement backs Etonia Waqa and Isikeli Rabitu, everyone erupted.
Most, if not all, other rugby crowds would greet consolation tries with a gruff grunt or shrug of the shoulders.
In Fiji, no matter the score, everyone rises to their feet to spark raucous, piercing celebrations you would expect following a Six Nations title success from 75,000 at Principality Stadium – not during a one-sided defeat in Suva.
“I’ve never seen a crowd so joyful. It’s an unusually pure experience,” Evans says of the Drua home matches.
“It’s the national sport, that helps. Everybody – young, old, boys, girls, iTaukei, Indo-Fijian – comes together for it.
“Even though the crowd is not huge, about 10,000 most games, they are very enthusiastic, passionate. They whoop and they holler. They wave their flags and jump up and down.
“It’s a small country so a lot of the players will be related to quite large numbers of the crowd. That makes a strong connection.
“For a lot of Fijians it’s hard to get to Suva or Lautoka. It’s a long way; a long boat trip. It’s quite expensive for them but they try to come once a year or once every two years.
“It’s a big thing. That’s heartwarming and moving.”
Such widespread support extends to viewership, merchandising and sponsorship success.
The average annual wage in Fiji is about $7000-$8000 – yet Drua jerseys that retail for $90 are everywhere on game day.
The Drua boast the best merchandising sales in the competition, selling more than 110,000 products per year to fuel a 54% increase in licensing revenue over the past three seasons.
Local viewership on measurable digital platforms – excluding free-to-air or subscriptions services – is booming, too, having more than doubled from 146,210 in 2023 to a 314,491 average in 2025 (across the first four rounds).
As a one nation club the Drua has attracted 15 local sponsors who, in a contrasting financial model to other Super franchises, fund the lion’s share of the franchise.
Sponsorship and merchandising are responsible for more than $9 million in annual revenue which has allowed the Drua to boost total player wages from a comparative lowly $2.6m in year one to $6m in year four – the same as New Zealand franchises, minus currency conversion – to significantly enhance retention.
While the Drua are battling on the field this season, sitting last with one win from seven attempts, Evans says they continue to unite a country where 40% of the population have Indian heritage which causes frequent interracial divisions.
“In some ways sport is a glorious irrelevance. It’s not life or death,” Evans says.
“But at its best it brings disparate groups together with a common purpose and interest. Not many things do that anymore. There are very few things that are genuinely congregational.
“Sport is one of the few that’s left and we should treasure that. That’s particularly true here. Even fourth year in they are still so proud to have a Super Rugby team.
“You still have support for the Crusaders and Chiefs but you walk around Suva, Nandi, Lautoka and there’s Drua merchandise everywhere.
“Why? Because it’s their team. That’s not manufactured. And it’s happened almost overnight. They’ve been waiting 25 years for this.
“There will be, quite rightly, a lot of criticism about the performance [against the Crusaders] today. We didn’t play well.
“They will be fiercely and loudly disappointed but it doesn’t mean they stop caring. They’ll keep coming and keep supporting because they’ve waited a long time for this, and it means a lot to them.”
Touring Fiji, particularly in the energy-sapping heat of February or March, is the most brutal away task for any Super team.
Crusaders coach Rob Penney, though, appreciates the incomparable atmosphere Fiji generates.
“It’s an amazing spot,” Penney says.
“I remember coming here and playing with Canterbury many, many moons ago in the mid-afternoon sun. It’s not easy, we all know that, but you come prepared. The supporters and the people here, they love it.
“You hear them roar in the crowd when their boys do well – right up until the end, even when the game is gone for them.
“With the Crusaders it’s apparent how much they love our team. We’re blessed to come here because it’s like a second home for us, although the Drua are their No 1.”
In a fraught economic climate, ventures to the Pacific or abroad are not attainable for everyone. But for anyone compiling a rugby bucket list, Fiji is a must-see-to-believe atmosphere; a place where fandom is alive to prove that, when aligned with genuine connection, support is not solely defined by results.
“If you are a rugby fan – you don’t have to be Fijian, and I know it’s a long way – you’ve got to come once, just to experience it,” Evans says.
“It’s unlike anywhere else.”
Liam Napier has been a sports journalist since 2010 and his work has taken him to World Cups in rugby, netball and cricket, boxing world title fights and Commonwealth Games.
The Hurricanes had a disrupted bye week with players stuck at home with Covid-19.