Fiji swoop for dual code international Barrie-Jon Mather

Barrie-Jon Mather, who played rugby union for England and rugby league for Great Britain, has the job of ensuring the Flying Fijians build on their 2023 Rugby World Cup success by helping to fill the void created by the departure of Simon Raiwalui, the head coach.

Interviews are currently taking place to find a replacement for Raiwalui who is now working for World Rugby with Mather appointed as Fiji rugby’s new High-Performance Unit (HPU) general manager, alongside Alana Thomas and former Flying Fijians hooker Bill Gadolo .

Mather told the Fiji Times: “I am excited to work with all the great guys here and build on some of the success the Flying Fijians and Fijiana had recently. What we really want is to repeat the success we’ve had the last few months and build on the really good work that Simon and the rest of the team started so that this is not a one-off but ultimately beating England or Australia should become an expectation from the fans and players most importantly.

“That’s the level that they need to be playing week-in and week-out so if we can help with the systems and policy in place then that’s what we are here for.”

Mather, formerly the  high performance  director at the NSW Institute of Sport, played once for the England rugby union team under Clive Woodward, ending up on the losing side when chasing a Grand Slam title when England were beaten by Wales at Wembley in 1999 with Scott Gibbs scoring a famous try.

Mather was playing for Sale when capped by Woodward and wants to ensure Fiji continue to make significant strides, aided by the success of the Fijian Drua in Super Rugby Pacific and the Fijiana team. “I want to go around to meet the unions, the stakeholders and try to get a sense of where Fiji Rugby is at nationally, and then we’ll go forward from there.

“There’s a little more work we’ve got to do in terms of the gyms and some of the facilities access for the Unions to make sure that they get what they need as well. HPU shouldn’t be a stand-alone unit, it needs to work with the Unions, identify the players and coaches so that we can have a more Fijian flavour to the Union as well.

“I always looked out for the flair and passion for the game that they had but I think this last 18 months with the involvement in Super Rugby and Super W, there’s been a real steel to them, and time has worked wonders with their coaches and players. They have progressed and it’s impressive to see.”

Mather played rugby league for Wigan and Castleford but started as a union player and played in the same England schools side as Matt Dawson and Richard Hill who went on to win the 2003 World Cup.