EURO STARS READY FOR SAMOA...
Vereniki Goneva (left), and Leone Nakarawa are ready to face Samoa in the Pacific Nations Cup on Saturday, should they be selected by Fiji Airways Flying Fijians head coach John McKee. Racing 92 lock forward Nakarawa won the European Player of 2018 while Newcastle Falcons utility Goneva was voted England’s best in the 2018 Aviva Premiership. Fiji plays Samoa at 3.30pm at the ANZ Stadium, Suva, as the Pacific Nations Cup begins. Nakarawa and Goneva were training at Albert Park on June 5, 2018.
Racing 92 lock forward Leone Nakarawa is happy to be home.
And yesterday he joined the Fiji Airways Flying Fijians squad in training as they prepare for 2018 Pacific Nations Cup and Test Series which starts this Saturday at the ANZ Stadium, Suva.
Fiji takes on Samoa in their first match at 3:30pm.
“It’s good to be back in my country and be with my Flying Fijians team,”Nakarawa said. “There are a lot of new boys in the team, everything is going well in camp and during training.”
Being the first Fijian to be awarded as the 2018 European Player of the Year award and having great leadership qualities upfront, Nakarawa was happy with the inclusion of young players in the squad. “It’s good to have new boys in the team, as we will not be playing rugby forever,”Nakarawa said. “It’s good to have them come through the system so when we leave they can still play on the same standard.” Nakarawa has also confirmed he will remain with Racing 92 next season.
He was rumoured to be joining Northampton Saints in England. “For the time being everything is well, I’m enjoying life in Paris and with Racing Metro.”
With their first match against Samoa this Saturday, he believes it would be a tough physical battle. “Samoa is not an easy team as they will come prepared for the fact that they want to book a spot in the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
“It will be a tough physical battle,” Nakarawa said.
Aviva Premiership player of 2018 Vereniki Goneva is ready play against Samoa.
“I’m always ready to play Fiji,”Goneva said. 7s RWC
The 30-year old has also confirmed his availability for the 2018 Rugby Sevens World Cup in San Francisco on July 20-22.
“Right now I’m focusing on the three test matches. After that I will
march into camp with the sevens team,”Nakarawa said. McKee Focus on Challenge
Fiji Airways Flying Fijians head coach John McKee is happy to Nakarawa and Vereniki Goneva are in camp
“It’s definitely great to have guys like Niki and Leone integrate into camp as we continue to focus on this weekend’s big challenge against Samoa” said McKee. “We’ll welcome Nadolo and Semi Radradra later this week
“There’s a high level of intensity and commitment in the group at the moment and the more time we have together to strengthen that, the better.
“I am complimenting the boys for the quality of work they put in during difficult conditions last week” he said.
“This week really is about us getting our game right” he said.