THE SUN IS out on a fresh Thursday morning at Kirwan Park, and the Flying Fijians are showcasing their joy for rugby.
There are whoops of celebration every time something goes well, even lineouts, while a couple of tries are finished with swan dives. These lads simply love their rugby.
Fiji have been training at the home of junior club De La Salle Palmerston FC [DLSP FC] this week as they prepare to face Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, and they’ve brought great energy to the place.
Ireland prop Andrew Porter lives nearby and when he popped over to the club grounds on Thursday morning for a brew from the on-site Fallow Coffee shop, he bumped into the Fijian players he’ll be going up against on Saturday night.
Jake White and his players have felt so at home in ‘Salmo,’ as the club is known locally, that they’ve decided to do their captain’s run on Friday at Kirwan Park, rather than going into the Aviva Stadium. The non-playing squad members will also train here again on Saturday morning, so they’ve really become part of the furniture.
“They’re the nicest people you’ll ever come across,” says DLSP FC director of rugby, Norman Byrne, as he watches the talented Fijian players training.
“They’re really easy, really open, and they’ve been great to deal with since they’ve been here.”
The highly experienced White, only recently in the job, is in the thick of things out on the pitch. It’s clear that he’s trying to add some structure to proceedings, push the standards, and layer foundational things onto Fiji’s traditional flair and power.
His trusted lieutenant, forwards coach Gert Smal, once of Ireland, is watching on with a keen eye for detail.
As well as the coaching talent, DLSP have been delighted to welcome some world-class players to their turf this week, with the likes of Josua Tuisova and Jiuta Wainiqolo gracing the pitch in Kirwan Park.
Fiji players after their session. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
And some of the Fijian community living in Ireland are thrilled too. Liebling Smith, who is the honorary consul of the Republic of Fiji in Ireland, is at the training session, as are a few Fijians who have travelled down from Lisburn in Northern Ireland.
“This is my first time seeing Fiji doing training like this,” says Ratu Vunitabua, who is with his wife, Miriama, and their two-year-old son, Ratu, as well as their friend, Roko Vulakoro.
Ratu explains that around 50 Fijian families live close to them in the north.
And it’s no surprise that rugby remains a big deal for them in Ireland. Ratu has been to watch Ulster, Leinster and Munster, while he played in the Kinsale 7s once – “a very fun weekend, especially afterwards!”
He also travelled to Liverpool and Cardiff for Fiji’s ‘home’ Nations Championship games in July.
“Rugby is like second nature to Fiji,” says Ratu.
“First thing is God and then the second is probably rugby. It’s like an everyday thing. Ever since we were small, we’ve been playing rugby.
“Everyone is just using coconuts or anything as a ball just to play.”
Among the players they’re watching closely is outside centre Setareki Bituniyata, who will make his Fiji debut against Ireland at the age of 31.
He will proudly represent his family and friends back home in the village of Toga, which is in the district of Naqalimare, which is in the province of Nadroga-Navosa, one of 14 provinces in Fiji.
When Fiji team manager Joe Tuinamata later names the team, he will list the player, as well as their village, their district, and their province. This stuff really matters to them.
“They take so much pride in it,” says White.
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Fiji boss Jake White. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
Bituniyata starred for the Fiji 7s in the 2016/17 season and earned himself a two-year contract in France with Pro D2 club Massy. He subsequently spent four years in the Top 14 with Brive, two in Toulouse, and now plays for Provence in the Pro D2.
He was named Pro D2 player of the season for 2025/26 and now finally gets his chance to play for Fiji.
“I want to thank God for this opportunity to play alongside some of my team-mates, boys that I’ve been watching on television for a couple of years now,” says Bituniyata.
“For years, I’ve been trying to make it to the team, but now that I’ve got an opportunity, it means a lot to me. Not only to me, but also to my family and my relatives back home.”
When Fiji wrap up their training session, they gather in the middle of the pitch, where they’re joined by Byrne and DLSP FC president Niall Fitzgerald, who say a few words.
And then there’s a collective prayer and blessing delivered by Fr Teo Avram, a Jesuit priest based in Dublin.
He was asked to come along to the session by Conor Maguire, who played professional rugby for the Dragons, Gloucester and Richmond after featuring at underage levels with Ireland, as well as for Leinster A and the Connacht Eagles.
A neck injury forced Maguire to retire after leaving Richmond in 2023, and he is now going down a different route as he trains to become a priest. He says he had felt a pull towards priesthood for quite some time.
Maguire has spent time in Fiji – hence this visit to training – and has seen how strong the country’s faith is.
“It’s a great Christian culture there,” says Maguire. “In Fiji, lots of the families go to daily mass every morning before school, and even in the evenings there’ll be a lot of prayer and singing hymns together, and it’s just a great family environment.”
When Fr Avram finishes his blessing, the Fijian team huddle up and launch into one of their gospel hymns, Au Rai Vei Kemuni. These rugby players really can sing. It’s a huge part of their time together in camps.
Lekima Tagitagivalu sings Au Rai Vei Kemuni. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
“It means a lot to the group,” says Bituniyata afterwards.
“Before we start our day, we have our devotion. And then after training, it means a lot to us boys. We have our families back home praying for us.
“Because you know, we don’t have the power… we don’t have the human strength to try and defeat this Irish team. To play against the Irish team, we need God to be with us.”
As well as seeing up close just how religious Fijian people are, Maguire got first-hand experience of their obsession with rugby.
The love for rugby truly runs deep in Fiji.
“When you’re in Fiji, after 5 o’clock whenever comes back from work, all the villagers go to the rugby pitch and they’ll play ‘one touch’ [a version of touch rugby where the ball is turned over after one touch, rather than five],” says Maguire.
“The kids will join in, all the uncles, and everyone will just be throwing the ball around for two or three hours.
“This happens nearly every day. So rugby for them, it’s just in their lifestyle every single day. It’s amazing to see it.”
White echoes those comments. The South African knows how deeply the Springboks are loved in his native land. He has seen how much rugby means to New Zealanders.
But he believes Fiji is as passionate about rugby as any other nation in the world.
One of the main themes White has focused on since taking over as head coach in October is the traditional Fijian concept of Solesolevaki, which is all about working together as a community for everyone’s gain.
“So, basically all these farmers come together, and if there’s a young farmer, they all go and help him farm his land, and then the same is reciprocated,” explains White. “It’s the community helping each other.
“I thought it would be a nice connection thing because you’ve got island boys, you’ve got kids who grew up in New Zealand, you’ve got kids who went to private schools, you’ve got kids who grew up in a village. The realities are so different.
“One thing we try to do is just work for each other.”
White says that joining the Fijians has reaffirmed most of what he already knew or had heard about their players and people. He has found a group hungry to learn, fiercely proud of representing their nation, and ambitious to close the gap on leading nations.
He is enjoying learning the details of the squad’s culture, which includes the players wearing their sulu, a kilt-like wraparound garment, for their jersey presentations.
There are also the famous kava ceremonies, a big part of Fijian culture. Kava is a non-alcoholic drink made from the roots of a Pacific Island pepper plant mixed with water. It is intended to create a relaxing feeling in the drinker.
“Yes, probably last week was the first session with him,” says Bituniyata of White getting involved on that front.
“So yeah, he’s trying. He’ll get used to it!”
As they make their way back to the team bus, some of the Fijian players grab post-training coffees and snacks, clearly happy with their home away from home in DLSP FC.
For their part, the club have been thrilled to host an international rugby team for the first time. It was organised through the IRFU and with Fiji staying at the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel in Killiney, it made logistical sense for them to train in Salmo.
The new-and-improved Kirwan Park, named after a family with multi-generational influence on the club, reopened last year, and the DLSP are thriving.
Byrne explains that they have 27 teams across the club, taking in five men’s sides, a women’s amalgamated team, the minis and youths for boys and girls, mixed-ability and special needs sides, touch rugby, tag rugby and even an American football partnership.
They have a whopping 500 children in their minis section as the community around them in Kilternan and its surrounds continues to grow.
The club has a big focus on bringing players all the way through from the minis to the men’s and women’s sides, with that work proving fruitful in recent years. They’re even going to launch a club academy next year for boys and girls from U16 to U20 level, providing them with the kind of focused coaching other players get in big rugby schools.
DLSP spent three years in Division 1 of the All-Ireland League in the late 1990s, but it’s now a junior club, with their men’s first team playing in Leinster League 1B.
“We were a senior club for a long time, and we still try and operate as one,” says Byrne.
This visit on a bright Thursday morning and afternoon is enough to feel the welcoming atmosphere that Salmo have worked hard to build. The cosy clubhouse and big balcony area look like a prime location for a full day of rugby craic after the action on the pitch.
There are jerseys from past players, including Des Fitzgerald, whose son Luke played in the minis, and Leinster back row James Culhane, hanging around the clubhouse.
Having already taken some of Byrne’s club beanie hats from him, Fiji will surely leave a nice memento at the end of their enjoyable week at DLSP.
With their family vibes and friendly nature, Byrne says the Flying Fijians have been a pleasure to host.
“They’re just brilliant, salt-of-the-earth people.”
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Coconuts, kava, hymns and pure rugby joy as Fiji set up in Salmo
THE SUN IS out on a fresh Thursday morning at Kirwan Park, and the Flying Fijians are showcasing their joy for rugby.
There are whoops of celebration every time something goes well, even lineouts, while a couple of tries are finished with swan dives. These lads simply love their rugby.
Fiji have been training at the home of junior club De La Salle Palmerston FC [DLSP FC] this week as they prepare to face Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, and they’ve brought great energy to the place.
Ireland prop Andrew Porter lives nearby and when he popped over to the club grounds on Thursday morning for a brew from the on-site Fallow Coffee shop, he bumped into the Fijian players he’ll be going up against on Saturday night.
Jake White and his players have felt so at home in ‘Salmo,’ as the club is known locally, that they’ve decided to do their captain’s run on Friday at Kirwan Park, rather than going into the Aviva Stadium. The non-playing squad members will also train here again on Saturday morning, so they’ve really become part of the furniture.
“They’re the nicest people you’ll ever come across,” says DLSP FC director of rugby, Norman Byrne, as he watches the talented Fijian players training.
“They’re really easy, really open, and they’ve been great to deal with since they’ve been here.”
The highly experienced White, only recently in the job, is in the thick of things out on the pitch. It’s clear that he’s trying to add some structure to proceedings, push the standards, and layer foundational things onto Fiji’s traditional flair and power.
His trusted lieutenant, forwards coach Gert Smal, once of Ireland, is watching on with a keen eye for detail.
As well as the coaching talent, DLSP have been delighted to welcome some world-class players to their turf this week, with the likes of Josua Tuisova and Jiuta Wainiqolo gracing the pitch in Kirwan Park.
And some of the Fijian community living in Ireland are thrilled too. Liebling Smith, who is the honorary consul of the Republic of Fiji in Ireland, is at the training session, as are a few Fijians who have travelled down from Lisburn in Northern Ireland.
“This is my first time seeing Fiji doing training like this,” says Ratu Vunitabua, who is with his wife, Miriama, and their two-year-old son, Ratu, as well as their friend, Roko Vulakoro.
Ratu explains that around 50 Fijian families live close to them in the north.
And it’s no surprise that rugby remains a big deal for them in Ireland. Ratu has been to watch Ulster, Leinster and Munster, while he played in the Kinsale 7s once – “a very fun weekend, especially afterwards!”
He also travelled to Liverpool and Cardiff for Fiji’s ‘home’ Nations Championship games in July.
“Rugby is like second nature to Fiji,” says Ratu.
“First thing is God and then the second is probably rugby. It’s like an everyday thing. Ever since we were small, we’ve been playing rugby.
“Everyone is just using coconuts or anything as a ball just to play.”
Among the players they’re watching closely is outside centre Setareki Bituniyata, who will make his Fiji debut against Ireland at the age of 31.
He will proudly represent his family and friends back home in the village of Toga, which is in the district of Naqalimare, which is in the province of Nadroga-Navosa, one of 14 provinces in Fiji.
When Fiji team manager Joe Tuinamata later names the team, he will list the player, as well as their village, their district, and their province. This stuff really matters to them.
“They take so much pride in it,” says White.
Bituniyata starred for the Fiji 7s in the 2016/17 season and earned himself a two-year contract in France with Pro D2 club Massy. He subsequently spent four years in the Top 14 with Brive, two in Toulouse, and now plays for Provence in the Pro D2.
He was named Pro D2 player of the season for 2025/26 and now finally gets his chance to play for Fiji.
“I want to thank God for this opportunity to play alongside some of my team-mates, boys that I’ve been watching on television for a couple of years now,” says Bituniyata.
“For years, I’ve been trying to make it to the team, but now that I’ve got an opportunity, it means a lot to me. Not only to me, but also to my family and my relatives back home.”
When Fiji wrap up their training session, they gather in the middle of the pitch, where they’re joined by Byrne and DLSP FC president Niall Fitzgerald, who say a few words.
And then there’s a collective prayer and blessing delivered by Fr Teo Avram, a Jesuit priest based in Dublin.
He was asked to come along to the session by Conor Maguire, who played professional rugby for the Dragons, Gloucester and Richmond after featuring at underage levels with Ireland, as well as for Leinster A and the Connacht Eagles.
A neck injury forced Maguire to retire after leaving Richmond in 2023, and he is now going down a different route as he trains to become a priest. He says he had felt a pull towards priesthood for quite some time.
Maguire has spent time in Fiji – hence this visit to training – and has seen how strong the country’s faith is.
“It’s a great Christian culture there,” says Maguire. “In Fiji, lots of the families go to daily mass every morning before school, and even in the evenings there’ll be a lot of prayer and singing hymns together, and it’s just a great family environment.”
When Fr Avram finishes his blessing, the Fijian team huddle up and launch into one of their gospel hymns, Au Rai Vei Kemuni. These rugby players really can sing. It’s a huge part of their time together in camps.
“It means a lot to the group,” says Bituniyata afterwards.
“Before we start our day, we have our devotion. And then after training, it means a lot to us boys. We have our families back home praying for us.
“Because you know, we don’t have the power… we don’t have the human strength to try and defeat this Irish team. To play against the Irish team, we need God to be with us.”
As well as seeing up close just how religious Fijian people are, Maguire got first-hand experience of their obsession with rugby.
The love for rugby truly runs deep in Fiji.
“When you’re in Fiji, after 5 o’clock whenever comes back from work, all the villagers go to the rugby pitch and they’ll play ‘one touch’ [a version of touch rugby where the ball is turned over after one touch, rather than five],” says Maguire.
“The kids will join in, all the uncles, and everyone will just be throwing the ball around for two or three hours.
“This happens nearly every day. So rugby for them, it’s just in their lifestyle every single day. It’s amazing to see it.”
White echoes those comments. The South African knows how deeply the Springboks are loved in his native land. He has seen how much rugby means to New Zealanders.
But he believes Fiji is as passionate about rugby as any other nation in the world.
One of the main themes White has focused on since taking over as head coach in October is the traditional Fijian concept of Solesolevaki, which is all about working together as a community for everyone’s gain.
“So, basically all these farmers come together, and if there’s a young farmer, they all go and help him farm his land, and then the same is reciprocated,” explains White. “It’s the community helping each other.
“I thought it would be a nice connection thing because you’ve got island boys, you’ve got kids who grew up in New Zealand, you’ve got kids who went to private schools, you’ve got kids who grew up in a village. The realities are so different.
“One thing we try to do is just work for each other.”
White says that joining the Fijians has reaffirmed most of what he already knew or had heard about their players and people. He has found a group hungry to learn, fiercely proud of representing their nation, and ambitious to close the gap on leading nations.
He is enjoying learning the details of the squad’s culture, which includes the players wearing their sulu, a kilt-like wraparound garment, for their jersey presentations.
There are also the famous kava ceremonies, a big part of Fijian culture. Kava is a non-alcoholic drink made from the roots of a Pacific Island pepper plant mixed with water. It is intended to create a relaxing feeling in the drinker.
“Yes, probably last week was the first session with him,” says Bituniyata of White getting involved on that front.
“So yeah, he’s trying. He’ll get used to it!”
As they make their way back to the team bus, some of the Fijian players grab post-training coffees and snacks, clearly happy with their home away from home in DLSP FC.
For their part, the club have been thrilled to host an international rugby team for the first time. It was organised through the IRFU and with Fiji staying at the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel in Killiney, it made logistical sense for them to train in Salmo.
The new-and-improved Kirwan Park, named after a family with multi-generational influence on the club, reopened last year, and the DLSP are thriving.
Byrne explains that they have 27 teams across the club, taking in five men’s sides, a women’s amalgamated team, the minis and youths for boys and girls, mixed-ability and special needs sides, touch rugby, tag rugby and even an American football partnership.
They have a whopping 500 children in their minis section as the community around them in Kilternan and its surrounds continues to grow.
The club has a big focus on bringing players all the way through from the minis to the men’s and women’s sides, with that work proving fruitful in recent years. They’re even going to launch a club academy next year for boys and girls from U16 to U20 level, providing them with the kind of focused coaching other players get in big rugby schools.
DLSP spent three years in Division 1 of the All-Ireland League in the late 1990s, but it’s now a junior club, with their men’s first team playing in Leinster League 1B.
“We were a senior club for a long time, and we still try and operate as one,” says Byrne.
This visit on a bright Thursday morning and afternoon is enough to feel the welcoming atmosphere that Salmo have worked hard to build. The cosy clubhouse and big balcony area look like a prime location for a full day of rugby craic after the action on the pitch.
There are jerseys from past players, including Des Fitzgerald, whose son Luke played in the minis, and Leinster back row James Culhane, hanging around the clubhouse.
Having already taken some of Byrne’s club beanie hats from him, Fiji will surely leave a nice memento at the end of their enjoyable week at DLSP.
With their family vibes and friendly nature, Byrne says the Flying Fijians have been a pleasure to host.
“They’re just brilliant, salt-of-the-earth people.”
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Bula vinaka Flying Fijians Ireland Nations Championship