SVNS Dream Team member Joji Nasova signs with Fijian Drua

HSBC SVNS Series star Joji Nasova will bring world-class skill and explosiveness to Super Rugby Pacific next season, having signed a two-year deal with the Fijian Drua from 2026. This is a big boost for the Drua, with Nasova considered one of the world’s most exciting sevens players.

Nasova was named in the SVNS Dream Team after a stellar season, with Great Britain’s Harry Glover, Spain’s Manu Moreno and Pol Pla, Paulin Riva from France, and Argentina’s Luciano Gonzalez and Marcos Moneta also selected among the chosen elite.

Fiji started the season with a bang, taking out the Cup Final at the season opener in Dubai last December, before ending the regular season with another title in Singapore. While the winner-takes-all finale in Los Angeles didn’t go to plan, it was a solid campaign from the Fijians.

Nasova led the way as a clear standout, finishing the SVNS Series campaign as the equal-top try scorer out of any player with 26. That completed a memorable couple of years in sevens, which included an Olympic silver medal at the Paris Games in 2024.

The 24-year-old initially debuted on the SVNS Series at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens in the 2023/24 season, and was also part of the gold-medal winning sevens team at the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands. But a new challenge awaits.

“I am very excited to be selected to be part of the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua team ahead of next year’s competition and I hope next season will be a good one,” Nasova said in a statement.

Nasova joins a talented Drua squad which also includes fellow Paris Olympics silver medallist Ponipate Loganimasi. Loganimasi has been superb this season, scoring six tries in 11 appearances, including a double away to the NSW Waratahs in round three.

The Drua are one of two teams out of playoff contention, with the Fijians currently second-last with only one match left to play. After three matches on home soil, the Drua will travel to Brisbane next week to face the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium on May 31.

While this season hasn’t quite gone to plan for the Drua, with CEO Mark Evans labelling a run of defeats as some “unacceptable performances” in late April, they have claimed some memorable wins over the Chiefs, Waratahs and Reds.

But there’s no doubt the addition of Nasova will come as a significant boost to a squad that will seek drastic improvements in 2026 and beyond.

“We are all massively excited that such a huge name from the World Sevens Series is joining us,” coach Glen Jackson added.

“We are eager to see Joji transform his skills into the 15s game. He’s already a household name in Fiji Rugby and we thank Osea Kolinisau for the partnership that exists between the Drua and the Fijian 7s Programme.

“We look forward to Joji showing us his try-scoring abilities in Super Rugby Pacific.”