Seta stays on, Hughes settles in
Flying Fijian centre Seta Tamanivalu is sticking with Japanese rugby club Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo for the new season.
Under the coaching of his former Crusaders coach, Todd Blackadder, Tamanivalu will be a contender for the Flying Fijians midfield position for next year’s Rugby World Cup in France. He made his debut for the Flying Fijians in the Pacific Nations Cup in July.
The former Lelean Memorial School student played three Test for the All Blacks in 2016 before featuring in two non-Test matches in 2017.
Tamanivalu qualified to represent Fiji under the new World Rugby eligibility laws, whereby test-capped players can represent a second nation that they are eligible for via birthright following a three-year stand down period.
Blackadder has added South African midfielder Burger Odendaal from Wasps but will largely rely on the same squad from last season that won 11 matches.
Rising star Warner Dearns in the second row, Tamanivalu, and the long-serving backrower Michael Leitch, will again be Blackadder’s key men. Leitch’s mum is from the province of Ra.
After announcing his availability to play for Fiji, former England backrower Nathan Hughes has also joined Japanese club Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo.
The biggest ‘catch’ is the 22-Test veteran Hughes, who has traded the Bristol jersey for that of the Black Rams. He is hopeful that the move could re-start his international rugby career.
One player who skipped the November tour to be fresh for the new campaign is Fiji-born Australian Star winger Marika Koroibete, who is with Panasonic Wild Knights.
Having worked on the finer details of his game with Wild Knights mentor Robbie Deans, expect the Fijianborn winger to be even more damaging in his second season.