From Wales to Fiji: Ioan Cunningham- 'It was time for something new'

After five months at the helm Ioan Cunningham hopes that his Fiji side will leave an impression at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Last weekend his team narrowly lost 31-24 to the USA Women’s Eagles in front of a record Washington DC crowd. It was a hugely impressive performance from the side. It was just Cunningham’s fourth game in charge.

These past few months have been filled with plenty of learning for the former Wales head coach.

During his time in charge of the northern hemisphere nation, Cunningham oversaw the team’s transition from amateur to professional, helped the side to a third-place finish in the Women’s Six Nations in 2023 and a quarter-final finish at the 2021 World Cup.

‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

Appointed as Fijiana XVs boss three months after his three year tenure with Wales came to an end, the 42-year-old has relished the opportunity to start afresh several thousand miles away from home.

“It was a tough period, but this opportunity has definitely helped me with that process,” Cunningham said.

“It created that burning desire inside you again and you’re looking forward to the next challenge. It’s been so different, and it was a big change with lifestyle. It’s been really good and refreshing.

“I was excited by the opportunity and something totally different to test myself. That was the biggest thing, to challenge myself and get myself out of my comfort zone of coaching in the northern hemisphere and coaching in Wales.

“I’m challenging myself with a totally different culture, language and experience. I wanted to get out of Wales, and it was time for a chance and something new.

“This opportunity came up and I saw what potential the team had, as well as getting exposed to different styles of rugby and approaches to the game.”

Over the past few months Cunningham has relished each challenge thrown his way.

At the start of his time in Fiji, the Llanelli native had to contend with the heat affecting handling drills, while sun-baked tackle bags during contact training proved a little too hot for comfort.

You then throw in ‘Fiji time’, the relaxed and unhurried pace of life in Fijian culture, Cunningham has had a lot to get his head around.

But instead of rewriting the rulebook, the Welshman has leant into the uniqueness of the Pacific Island nation and wants to use it as a strength.

“I was coming from an environment where if you were five minutes early for a meeting, you were still a little bit late,” Cunningham chuckled.

“Then, you have to fit things in the schedule that are important to the players. Like the lotu, singing hymns – that’s a massive part of the day.

“When you first hear them sing it’s amazing. It still is now. And it’s a huge strength for the team. I think we’ve got to use that to our advantage.”

Thrust into the rugby mad surroundings of Viti Levu, he has watched 30-people games of touch rugby of an evening and seen the island ground to a halt when its national teams are on the field, with the only breaks of silence coming when car horns blare out in celebration.

The run-up to his first game in charge of the nation was in many ways curtailed by a bout of dengue fever. Although that 43-7 loss to Jo Yapp’s Wallaroos was quickly followed by an Oceania Championship title in June.

Women’s rugby is still developing in Fiji. Only recently girls’ rugby was rolled out across high schools across the islands and this Super Rugby W season the Fijiana Drua went to the semi-finals to maintain their positive performances in the competition.

That squad alone has provided a strong base of players for Cunningham to pick from, while the likes of Rusila Nagasau and Kolora Lomani women’s sevens players have added a wealth of international experience.

Already Cunningham is of the belief that the Fijiana are ready to make leaps on the world stage.

Over the past five months he has been inundated with messages from Fijian players across the world offering their services to the national team and, before his team got on a flight to the USA, 120 players took part in a series of training games, which included a squad from Fiji’s high performance unit.

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It may not be at this year’s World Cup that Fiji go supersonic. It could be in Australia in four years’ time or maybe even in the USA in 2031. But all the building blocks are in place.

“With the World Cup, you don’t have much time,” Cunningham said. “You know, the Fiji style of play is very much around the offload, just reaction, being natural and enjoyment.

“We want to keep that in our game, but we have had to get across that sometimes you have to be a bit more patient with the ball and that was the biggest change to how they’ve been coached.

“It is different to what they were used to and getting buy-in is something that took a bit of time.”

Ahead of Saturday’s clash in Washington DC at Audi Field, Cunningham expected his Fiji team to come up against a passionate USA outfit.

Sione Fukofuka’s team played their final game on home soil just days after announcing their squad for the Rugby World Cup, which included the high-profile Olympic bronze medalist Ilona Maher.

Now having left home soil on a high, the Eagles will travel to Canada to take on their closest rivals in Ottawa.

It is a game that Cunningham will take a keen interest with Fiji’s opening match of the World Cup coming against the Canadians in York a day after the USA take on England’s Red Roses in the tournament opener in Sunderland.

It will be a tough test for Cunningham’s charges all round, as they also have games with Scotland and his former team Wales to look forward to.

Over the course of their time in England, there is an expectation that Salanieta Kinita, Litiana Vueti and teenager Carletta Yee will make their presence known.

As more professional competitions crop up around the world, there is a greater chance that these players could find themselves plying their trade outside of Super W. But it all starts in York in a months’ time.

For success, Cunningham hopes that his efforts to help the team develop more structure can make a lasting impression to anyone watching on.

“The challenge, from a Fiji point of view, is that the Super W competition is so different,” Cunningham said. “There are half the kicks of the PWR. It (Super W) is very much based around playing and high ball-in-play (time).

“Especially with the Fiji mindset of ‘we’ll have a go from anywhere’. So that’s the balance we’ve got to get right.

“It’s a tough pool, but a fantastic opportunity. I don’t want to say ‘we want to get out of the pool’, I think if we just stick to the process we can surprise a few people. We really can.”