NEWLY-appointed Naitasiri rugby 15s coach Sailosi Naiteqe Senior says he wants to bring back the rugby passionate Highlanders' supporters are known for.
Thus means Naiteqe will need to be fair in selecting the best players from all districts within the province. He said he wanted to restore Naitasiri's passionate support towards rugby.
"I am happy to be given the opportunity to be coach and I am thankful to the executives for having faith in me. I am ready to lift Naitasiri to where it used to be," he said.
"One of my main objectives is to bring back that support that Naitasiri was known for. We used to have so many supporters in the past. So in order to achieve that, I will need to select to players from all the 16 districts within the province."
The Samurai Barracudas rugby 7s coach was named by the Naitasiri Rugby Union as head coach and will be assisted by Peniasi Uluiviti.
With NRU looking to a new era for the Highlanders, Naiteqe has already mapped out plans for the new season.
Naiteqe, who is not new in the Naitasiri rugby system, says he wants to continue from where former coach Reverend Joji Rinakama had left off.
"I think Talatala (Rinakama) has done a good development for the past couple of years. We have seen some Naitasiri players in our Fiji 7s and 15s teams and also the Fiji Warriors side. That will be a challenge for me and I want to continue on that note."
Naiteqe was part of the Highlanders coaching panel in 1998, 2000 and 2002.