Pasifika Sipoti in brief for 21 May
Glen Jackson working with the Fiji national team in 2021.
Photo:
PHOTOSPORT
Fijian Drua coach Glen Jackson is urging patience as the team's season approaches its end.
The Drua are 10th and second-last with two rounds of Super Rugby Pacific to go.
They have a bye this weekend before finishing their season against the Reds in Brisbane on 31 May.
FBC
reported Jackson saying he understands the fans are unhappy with the results.
"They're probably sick and tired of hearing me about how young we are and how inexperienced we are.
"But that's the life of what we were at, so very motivated to finish well."
The Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika are expecting some player movements for the new 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season.
Drua co-captain and hooker Tevita Ikanivere is expected to leave the cub for a possible contract in Europe, while 21-year-old flanker Motikai Murray has re-signed for another two seasons.
Fiji Sevens player Joji Nasova will join the Fijian Drua in 2026.
The Fiji Times
reports the club has announced the Olympic silver medalist joining on a two-year deal.
Joji Nasova was named in the 2025 HSBC SVNS Men's Dream Team and was the joint top try-scorer of the series.
Meanwhile, Moana Pasifika has confirmed that utility backline player, Fine Inisi, will join the Dragons in Wales, at the end of the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific series.
Australian-born Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu says he is "all in" for the British and Irish Lions.
Rugby.com.au
reported that amid ongoing debate about the selection of foreign-born players, the Glasgow centre - who has Tongan heritage - is set to line up against the Wallabies during the Lions tour.
Tuipulotu, who made his international debut in 2021, is among seven members of Andy Farrell's 38-man squad who hail from overseas.
Five of those players are eligible for their adopted nations on residency rules, while Melbourne-born Tuipulotu qualified through his Scottish grandmother.
He said he is looking forward to showing how committed he is to playing for the Lions.
Oceania Football president, Lambert Maltock, says the new OFC Pro-league will transform the landscape of football in the region.
Maltock told the OFC 31st Ordinary Congress in Paraguay that the league will help clubs, players, and people aspire to the highest standards.
He said Oceania is also strong on youth development and growing the women's game.
OFC has over 70,000 young players in the different national academies and grassroots programmes.
Guam's men's basketball team has been drawn into a strong group at the 2027 Basketball World Cup Asian qualifier, alongside Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
Australia is number three in the world, while Guam is the lowest-ranked by some margin at 88th.
The qualifier tips off in November when Guam opens its campaign against Australia, with its other games not until next year.
Speaking after the draw, Guam national coach Edward Calvo said every team at this level is elite, but he felt they can learn a lot by playing the best.
He said Guam's focus in the short term is on preparing for the FIBA Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia, where they'll face Japan, Iran, and Syria.
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