Lagisquet appointed sporting director of Fiji Latui, Nakaitaci on staff

Three years after his departure from Portugal, where he was coach from 2021 to 2023, Patrice Lagisquet will make his return to the world of rugby. The former coach of the French XV (2012-2015) was appointed sporting director of Fiji Latui, the Flying Fijians reserve (the national team), responsible for advancing players with high potential, the creation of which was made official yesterday, after the company’s statutes were filed in the afternoon.
It was at Milady Beach, the restaurant run by pelota champion Eric Irastorza, that the announcement was made by Julian Vulakoro, the sports ambassador for the Fijian government, in the presence of Koli Sewabo, the CEO of Fiji Rugby Union.“There are 400 Fijian players in Europe, 50 or 60 are involved with the Flying Fijians and the rest will be able to claim a place to develop with the Latui. There will also be a women’s team. Basing this team in France will allow us to share their culture. It is a country that allows us to develop our rugby†, explained the former three-quarter center, in front of around fifty people, including part of the staff of the national VII team and the women’s VII team, currently on training near Biarritz.

Lagisquet: “I had missed you”

To carry out this project, Fijian decision-makers set their sights on Patrice Lagisquet, who was particularly enthusiastic about the idea of ​​returning to the world of rugby. “Très honneêtement, ça commençait à me manquer, admitted the former international winger (46 caps). I never stopped for more than three years. After Biarritz, I took a break from 2008 to 2011. These last three years, I’ve been doing freelance work here and there, friends asked me to go and lead training sessions, but here, I wanted to pass on things. The potential of Fijian players is a bit of a dream. When you think about what you can create or imagine, it puts your brain into overdrive. These players have it all! We can imagine forms of rugby that are not too developed, that opens up the field of possibilities.â€
The installation of the Latui in the Basque Country, where Lagisquet resides, obviously facilitated the arrival of the technician, who arrived in this project thanks to a combination of circumstances. “I was asked to work on an insurance file, because the Fijian Federation wants to set up an insurance license, as exists in France in all sports, he told us. As the meetings progressed, I spoke with Julian Vulakoro who told me about the Latui. He told me that he was looking for someone to help run this team from a sporting point of view and, at the same time, have experience training the staff members, so that within a few years, Fijians would be at the head of the Flying Fijians staff. Ultimately, it corresponded to the kind of project that could interest me.â€

Nakaitaci, back to basics

On Milady beach, where temperatures were still flirting with 30 degrees at the end of the day, the staff who will accompany Patrice Lagisquet on his missions were also presented. On the physical aspect, Lagisquet will work with an old acquaintance, since Olivier Rieg, who assisted him during the heydays of Olympic Biarritz, or more recently with Portugal, has agreed to join the staff. Then, the former BO strategist will be responsible for training and supervising Sunia Koto Vuli (former Narbonne hooker), Daniele Baleinadogo (center passed by Mont de Marsan) and Noa Nakaitaci.
The latter knows Lagisquet well having worked with the Blues in 2015, because, if he knew the Fijian U20 selection, the former Clermont winger then chose to play for France. “For me, it’s a return to my roots, compared to where I started rugby, a avoué l’intéressé. Fiji gave me the opportunity to play rugby and thanks to them, I was spotted to sign for Clermont (in 2010, Editor’s note). The possibility of joining the Latui staff came like that, and I will try to bring, to the Fijians, this little technical side so that they become complete players, in order to claim to play with the national team.†For Nakaitaci, this experience with the Latui will also be an opportunity to discover the international level as a coach.
The winger with fifteen caps with the Blues recently hung up his boots, after an end of his career with Limoges, and next season, he will be on the bench of SC Tulle (Fédérale 1). “This will allow me to try things. Things won’t happen like that, but by making a mistake, I will be able to improve and my missions with the Latui will help me improve, because the requirements will be really high. Patrice (Lagisquet) will guide us and help us†, underlined the young retiree, before the players of the Sevens team began a lovely song to conclude this evening of launching an ambitious project.