Simon Raiwalui has joined World Rugby after leaving his role with Fiji following the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup.
The 49-year-old took on the role of general manager high-performance for the Flying Fijians in 2020 before becoming interim head coach after Vern Cotter’s departure.
Raiwalui led the Pacific Islanders to a first-ever victory over England and then guided them to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
On their way, they ran Wales close before beating Australia 22-15, which was ultimately decisive in them reaching the last-eight.
In the knockout stages, they faced Steve Borthwick’s Red Rose side and gave them a mighty scare, but the Englishmen ultimately prevailed 30-24.
Raiwalui officially completed his stint with Fiji last week and will now take up a similar high performance position with the sport’s governing body.
“I am joining World Rugby as the manager of high performance,” he said at the Fiji Prime Minister’s International Business Awards.
“It is something that I am really invested in, the development and pathways of rugby, so I will be working worldwide. But like I have mentioned before hopefully one day I will be back in Fiji.
“Coaching the Flying Fijians is memorable. There are some interesting characters.
“The proudest moment for me was to see them grow every day. As a team, as individuals, we wanted them to express themselves, we didn’t want them to be limited.
“So, like I said from the start. Who are we? We are the Flying Fijians.
“Who we want to be? We want to represent Fiji and make every Fijian proud.”
