FIJI RUGBY WELCOMES ANDREW DURUTALO AS HEAD OF MEN’S HIGH PERFORMANCE
Fiji Rugby is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Durutalo as Head of Men’s High Performance, strengthening the organisation’s commitment to building a sustainable, integrated and internationally competitive High-Performance system.
Durutalo brings to Fiji Rugby a unique combination of international rugby experience, high-performance leadership, strategic management, commercial expertise and global sports administration.
Born and developed in Fiji, Durutalo was a pioneer member of the Fiji Rugby High-Performance Unit Academy in 2006. He represented Fiji at age-grade level and captained the Fiji Under-19 and Under-21 teams before embarking on an international playing and professional career.
After moving to the United States, Durutalo represented Team USA at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, 2015 Rugby World Cup and 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens.
His professional playing career also included experience across several international rugby environments, including Japan with the Sunwolves, England with Worcester Warriors and Ealing Trailfinders, and professional rugby in the United States.
Following his playing career, Durutalo transitioned into leadership, management and sports administration, building extensive experience across the global sports industry.
He served as Director of Rugby Operations, General Manager at Hong Kong Football Club and as an International Sports Envoy with the U.S. Department of State. He has also worked with the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, contributing to strategic partnerships, commercial innovation and athlete-focused initiatives.
Durutalo holds an Executive MBA from the University of Oxford, a Bachelor of Business Administration from Hakuoh University in Japan and has undertaken postgraduate studies in International Sports Management through the University of London. He is fluent in Fijian, English and Japanese.
Strengthening Fiji Rugby’s High-Performance Pathway
As Head of Men’s High Performance, Durutalo will play an important role in strengthening the alignment and progression of Fiji Rugby’s male player and coach pathway, from emerging age-grade talent through to elite and senior national representation.
His role will support the continued development of the High-Performance Player and Coach Pathway programmes underpinning the Fiji U18s, Fiji U20s, Fiji Men’s 7s and Flying Fijians, while strengthening the systems required to identify, develop, monitor and prepare Fiji’s best rugby talent for international competition.
Fiji Rugby General Manager High Performance, Naca Cawanibuka, said Durutalo’s appointment was an important addition to the direction Fiji Rugby is taking with its High-Performance programme.
“Andrew brings a unique combination of international playing experience, high-performance leadership and global sports administration, but equally important is his understanding of Fiji, our rugby culture and the enormous potential that exists within our player and coach pathways.
“Our focus is not only on preparing national teams for the next competition. We are building a sustainable High-Performance system that identifies talent early, develops players and coaches through clearly defined pathways, and prepares them to meet the standards required at international and professional level.
“Andrew will have an important role in strengthening the Men’s High-Performance pathway and ensuring greater alignment from our U18 and U20 programmes through to Fiji 7s, professional rugby and ultimately the Flying Fijians.
“He will also work closely across Performance Analysis, Sports Science and Sports Medicine, Rugby Development, Match Officials and our wider High-Performance team. Modern high performance cannot operate in isolation — these areas must work together around the player and coach.
“Andrew has experienced different rugby and sporting systems around the world and bringing that knowledge back into Fiji gives us an opportunity to continue raising our standards while developing a system that remains distinctly Fijian.
“We welcome Andrew home and look forward to working with him as we continue building the people, systems and pathways required for Fiji Rugby to consistently compete among the best rugby nations in the world,” Cawanibuka said.
An Integrated High-Performance Approach
In his new role, Durutalo will work closely with the General Manager High Performance, Head of Women’s High Performance, national team coaches, Match Officials, Performance Analysis Department, Sports Science and Sports Medicine Department, and Rugby Development Unit.
This integrated approach will strengthen coordination across talent identification, player development, coaching, performance analysis, physical preparation, sports medicine and national team pathways.
Durutalo’s appointment brings together strong Fijian roots, international rugby experience and senior-level expertise in strategy, commercial development, leadership and stakeholder management.
His international exposure, combined with his understanding of Fijian rugby culture, will provide additional leadership capacity as Fiji Rugby continues to professionalise its High-Performance environment and strengthen the pathway between domestic rugby, age-grade programmes and Fiji’s national teams.
Fiji Rugby welcomes Andrew Durutalo back into the Fijian rugby system and looks forward to his contribution towards the continued growth and professionalisation of the organisation and the development of a sustainable High-Performance pathway capable of delivering long-term national performance excellence.
Welcome home, Andrew.