Fiji’s women’s fifteens team, Fijiana, will play the Netherlands at Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground in Hong Kong on Saturday in a match that decides the inaugural WXV Global Series Challenger title, according to women.rugby, a women’s rugby news site. The site reported on 24 September that Fiji, unbeaten in the tournament, need only a draw to take the trophy, while the Netherlands must win outright.
It is a straightforward equation with an awkward edge for Fiji: the one side standing between Fijiana and a first title in a brand-new World Rugby competition tier is also, on women.rugby’s own record of the fixture, the last side to beat them. The Netherlands won 12-10 when the two met in Amsterdam in 2024.
Key facts
- Fiji need a draw or a win; the Netherlands need a win, women.rugby reported.
- The match opens the final weekend of the competition, ahead of Samoa v Hong Kong China and Spain v Brazil at the same venue.
- Fijiana head coach Willie Walker has made several changes to his starting side.
- Alfreda Fisher captains Fiji; Linde van der Velden captains the Netherlands.
- Netherlands head coach Gareth Gilbert takes charge of his side for the final time and has made seven changes to the starting 15.
- The preview we are working from does not give kick-off times, so none is stated here.
What the WXV Global Series Challenger actually is
For readers who do not follow the women’s international calendar closely, the tier matters as much as the trophy. World Rugby launched WXV in 2023 as a tiered annual competition for women’s fifteens teams, with the stated aim of guaranteeing national sides a regular diet of competitive Tests in the years between World Cups — the problem the women’s game had long complained about, where emerging nations could go months without a meaningful fixture. The Global Series Challenger is the entry level of that structure, sitting below the higher WXV tiers, and this is its first edition.
That places Fiji’s position in context. women.rugby reports Fijiana finished second in the 2024 WXV3, the third tier as it was then organised; the Challenger is the rebranded bottom rung of the same ladder. Winning it would make Fiji the first name on a new trophy and, more practically, would confirm them as the strongest side in a field that includes Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, Samoa and Hong Kong China.
Two caveats are worth stating plainly rather than glossing over. First, the promotion mechanics — whether the Challenger winner moves up a tier, and on what schedule — are not set out in the preview this report is based on, and we have not independently confirmed them. Second, neither World Rugby nor Fiji Rugby Union has published figures on prize money or funding attached to the Challenger, so the value on the table on Saturday is best described in competitive terms: a title, ranking points and the argument for more fixtures at a higher level.
Why it matters for Fijiana
Beyond the silverware, Saturday is a chance to reverse the 12-10 defeat in Amsterdam that women.rugby lists as the sides’ most recent meeting, and to convert an unbeaten group stage into a first piece of hardware in the new format. It also lands in a year in which the Fijian rugby calendar has been unusually full at every level: our own reports this year have covered the men’s Pacific Nations Cup final against Japan, the Flying Fijians’ Test against the Springboks at Polytec Stadium ahead of the 2027 World Cup, and Fiji’s Under-20 tour of New Zealand. Three confirmed fixtures across senior men, a Tier One Test and the age-grade pathway is the concrete basis for calling it a heavy year; a Fijiana title would be the women’s entry on that list.
On the day itself, women.rugby does not report any route to the trophy other than the result on the field.
Walker’s changes to the Fijiana XV
Zipporah Sorokacika and Keleni Marawa come into the front row, while Mereoni Nakesa replaces Kaavaki Lutumaibau in the second row, with Lutumaibau moving to a finisher’s role on the bench, according to women.rugby. The loose forward trio is unchanged — a notable point of stability in a side Walker has otherwise reshuffled for the decider.
Kolora Lomani returns to partner Varanisese Qoro in the halves, and Iva Nabura Rokowati starts at full-back. The site describes Fiji’s bench as carrying “firepower”, naming props Karalaini Naisewa and Adi Kere Lawavou and flanker Nunia Daunimoala among the finishers — a set of changes consistent with a team planning to win the last quarter rather than sit on a draw.
Fiji’s named starting side also includes Atelaite Buna Ralivanawa, Adi Salote Nailolo, Josivini Neihamu and Repeka Tove in the backs, with Tiana Robanakadavu, Carletta Yee, Merewairita Neivosa and Manuqalo Komaitai in the pack alongside captain Fisher.
Walker’s own assessment of the selection is not quoted in the preview this report draws on, and we have not obtained comment from him or from Fisher. If Fiji Rugby Union or the coach issues a statement before or after the match, this story will be updated.
A farewell match for the Dutch coach
Gilbert’s seven changes bring in Lynn Koelman, Brechtje Karst, Lisa Boot, Jet Metz and Puck van den Akker ahead of Alex Muggleton, Sydney de Weijer, Elizabeth Shermer, Lisa Egberts and Isis Touw, women.rugby reported. It is the last selection of his tenure.
Van der Velden, an Exeter Chiefs lock, leads the side again. The site says she has scored two tries and claimed five lineout steals in the tournament’s two matches so far — a set-piece threat Fiji will have to account for if they want to control the game. Winger Kika Mulling, Lieve Stallmann — winning her 25th cap — and full-back van den Akker are reunited to attack Fiji out wide, with de Weijer, Noah Demba, Julia Morauw, Egberts and Isa du Pre named among the replacements.
Elsewhere in Hong Kong
Two other matches complete the final weekend at the same ground, and both carry consequences further down the table rather than for the title.
| Match | Venue | What is at stake |
|---|---|---|
| Fiji v Netherlands | Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground | The title: Fiji need a draw, the Netherlands must win |
| Samoa v Hong Kong China | Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground | Samoa chase a first win; hosts can climb to third |
| Spain v Brazil | Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground | Every placing from third to sixth still possible |
- Samoa v Hong Kong China: Samoa arrive still searching for a first win, having opened with a 70-0 loss to the Netherlands at the same ground and then lost 61-21 to Spain after trailing 33-0 at half-time and scoring three second-half tries, women.rugby reported. “Progression has been the name of the game for Samoa in Hong Kong,” the site wrote. Former Wallaroo Janita Faoagali-Kareta is set for her first start for Manusina in the front row, Ariana Matue could win a first cap from the bench, and Lutia Col-Aumua and Faasua Makisi return to a back line in which Davina Lasini features in her 10th international. For the hosts, Roshini Turner makes her 20th appearance and Sabay Lynam her 10th as Hong Kong China seek a second win after a comeback victory over Brazil on the opening weekend.
- Spain v Brazil: Spain coach Regis Sonnes has changed seven of the starting XV that beat Samoa, with Lourdes Alameda returning in the second row for her 50th cap — the seventh Spanish women’s player to reach that mark. Nuria Jou and Eider García start alongside retained loosehead Inés Antolínez, with Nerea García, Carmen Nwatu and Valentina Pérez — moving to number eight — in the back row; Matilda Toca starts at scrum-half with Naroa Azpitarte at fly-half, Amaia Erbin and Claudia Peña in midfield and Amalia Argudo at full-back. Brazil head coach Guilherme Coghetto has again adjusted his line-up after two narrow defeats in a row, the site said.
What comes next
women.rugby gives no detail beyond the final weekend’s three matches, and does not report a date for a further Fijiana fixture, so we are not forecasting one. What is already confirmed in our reporting is that Fiji’s rugby calendar continues at men’s level, with the Flying Fijians’ Test against the Springboks locked in before the 2027 World Cup, and that Hong Kong China’s own build-up is aimed at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 — the horizon the Challenger tier is designed to feed.
How this story was reported
The team news, results and title scenario in this report come from women.rugby’s WXV Global Series Challenger round three preview, published 24 September and linked above. Background on the WXV structure and World Rugby’s stated reason for creating it is drawn from the competition’s public framework rather than from that preview, and the promotion and prize-money questions flagged above remain unconfirmed. No quotes from Willie Walker, Fijiana players or Fiji Rugby Union officials were available to us at the time of publication; the only direct quotation in this piece is women.rugby’s line on Samoa. We have not independently verified the line-ups and will correct or update this report if the published teams change or if Fiji Rugby Union issues comment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Fiji need to win the WXV Global Series Challenger title?
A draw is enough. women.rugby reported on 24 September that Fijiana, unbeaten in the tournament, need only to avoid defeat against the Netherlands in Hong Kong on Saturday, while the Netherlands must win outright to take the trophy. No other result or scenario handing Fiji the title is described in that preview.
Where and when do Fiji and the Netherlands play?
At Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground in Hong Kong on Saturday, according to women.rugby, which says the match opens the final weekend of the competition ahead of Samoa v Hong Kong China and Spain v Brazil at the same venue. The preview we are working from does not give kick-off times, so we are not stating one.
What is the WXV Global Series Challenger?
It is the entry-level tier of World Rugby’s tiered annual competition for women’s fifteens teams, and this is its first edition. World Rugby launched WXV in 2023 with the stated aim of guaranteeing national teams regular competitive Tests between World Cups; the Challenger sits below the higher WXV tiers and is contested by emerging nations. The exact promotion mechanics were not set out in the preview this report is based on, and we have not independently confirmed them.
When did Fiji and the Netherlands last play each other?
The two sides last met in 2024, when the Netherlands beat Fiji 12-10 in a Test match at Amsterdam’s National Rugby Center Stadium, according to women.rugby. Saturday’s meeting in Hong Kong is their first since, which means Fiji go into a title decider against the only opponent in this field known to have beaten them recently.
How did Fijiana perform in the last WXV cycle?
women.rugby reports that Fiji finished second in the 2024 WXV3, the third tier of the competition as it was then structured. The side has come into the final weekend of the inaugural WXV Global Series Challenger undefeated.
What else is being decided on the final weekend in Hong Kong?
Two other matches at the same ground. Samoa face hosts Hong Kong China still seeking their first win of the tournament; women.rugby says a Hong Kong China win could move the hosts into third place, which would be their best run and a boost two years out from Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029, with Lee Ka Shun and Chow Mei Nam set for their final appearances. Spain play Brazil, and the site reports that every placing between third and sixth remains mathematically possible.
