Taina Tuiwai 
[Source: NRL]
Fiji Bati five-eighth Kevin Naiqama predicts that his team will be amongst the top performing team at the 2026 Rugby League World Cup.
Reflecting on his 15-year international career which includes two World Cup semi-final appearances an emotional Naiqama played what is expected to be his final game in Saturday night’s 56-6 win over the Cook Islands.
Fiji teammates were determined to send him off in style in front of a large family contingent at Suva’s HFC Stadium.
Fiji Bati five-eighth Kevin Naiqama [right] [Source: NRL]
Naiqama, the most-capped Fijian international, prepared for his 26th Test as if it were his last, saying he would leave knowing that the future of the Bati was in good hands thanks to the development of young talent in the NRL.
“In 2009, when I made my debut, there was only two NRL players that played – my brother [Wes Naiqama] and Akuila Uate. To see the trajectory and how rugby league has grown … we’ve got a pool of players and players are now missing out with NRL experience. I feel like it’s only going to get better and it has.”
Bati captain Tui Kamikamica, who succeed Naiqama in the role after the last World Cup in 2022 says the players had made a pact to ensure Naiqama received the farewell he deserved in his final game in Fiji.
The 36-year-old former Dragons, Knights, Tigers and Roosters star was in tears before and after the match as he addressed team-mates and met with family members wearing his name on t-shirts.
Naiqama says he wasn’t expecting so many family members to travel across Fiji to be at the game and was shocked when he saw them in the crowd.
