Quddus Fieliea, the coach of the 'Ikale Tahi is the new coach of the Pacific Islanders combined team to tour Europe in November.

The Chairman of the Pacific Rugby Ltd Chairman, Keni Dakuidreketi made the announcement yesterday, September 23 in Suva after Ilivasi Tabua, who was to take the 2008 Pacific Islanders squad to Europe for their 2008 Tour stood down as Head Coach.

Ilivasi stood down because of unforeseen personal circumstances and Quddus Fielea, who was to have been the PI's backline coach, was appointed as Tabua's replacement.

Keni Dakuidreketi said that Fielea is no stranger to the pressures of Test match rugby, and he has been the Head Coach of Tonga.

"He coached the 'Ikale Tahi's' at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and is widely regarded as an excellent coach and strategist," said Keni.

There were also two additional appointments to the coaching staff of the Pacific Islanders.

The former Wallaby backs coach Glen Ella has been brought in to replace Quddus in his backline role. Ella, who played four Tests for the Wallabies between 1982 and 1985, has an extensive coaching background at the fifteen-a-side and seven...’s level. He is currently part of the Fijian High Performance set up.

John McKee was also appointed to the squad as specialist skills coach. He has coached extensively in Europe and Australia.

"We are extremely happy with these appointments as both Glen and John bring a wealth of experience in coaching and specialist skills," said Keni.

The manager for the Pacific Islanders' European Tour is Sitiveni Rabuka.

The Pacific Islanders' European Tour will start on November 2, they will play against England on November 8, France November 15 and Italy November 22.