Home is where the heart is
Dual-code international Denny Solomona moving back to NZ to chase Super Rugby
Former England wing and dual code international Denny Solomona is returning home to New Zealand where he will seek to start the next chapter of his career by joining a Super Rugby team.
Before leaving his mark in the UK as the Super League’s record-setting single season try-scorer and switching codes to play five times under Eddie Jones for England, Solomona grew up in Auckland.
He played touch rugby with the Ioane brothers; attended Otahuhu College with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and then played against the former Warriors captain turned Blues midfielder in the Auckland first XV competition after moving to St Peter’s College, Auckland.
Through his time at St Peter’s, Solomona also has ties to Patrick Tuipulotu, Vince Aso, Peter Saili and Bryn Hall.
That is where the New Zealand connection ends, though. Solomona took his talent — he clocked the 100m in 10.7 seconds and weighs 105kg — offshore to sign with the Melbourne Storm in the NRL as a 15-year-old.
He has since spent his professional career away from home, having played for the London Broncos and Castleford Tigers in the Super League before switching to rugby and representing Sale Sharks in the English Premiership for the past five years, scoring 47 tries in 97 appearances.
Now, though, after 13 years overseas, the pull of home is tugging at heartstrings.
Solomona misses his family greatly — his mother and grandparents live in Auckland. With partner Holly and daughter Roux, 18 months, on board, he is ready to move home next month.
“I’ve reached a point in my career where there’s something missing,” the 28-year-old Solomona tells the Herald on Sunday. “There’s an itch on my back I haven’t scratched before and that is coming back home.
“The competition is fierce. Everyone who knows rugby knows Super Rugby. It would be awesome to go back and touch base with where I came from and play against the boys I grew up with.
“I’ve achieved a lot in England but it’s time to come home and see where I’m at,” said Solomona.
After representing Samoa in rugby league Solomona made his union test debut for England five years ago, scoring a try off the bench. While he didn’t kick on in the test scene, he reflects fondly on an at times turbulent ride in the UK.
“I played rugby league for Castleford, breaking try-scoring records in that Super League season then going to play for Toa Samoa in Samoa which was awesome.
“I always had that urge to go back to rugby union so that was a big decision. The five years at Sale were hectic. The first year I made my debut for England and that was crazy. [Coach] Eddie Jones called me up and said he wanted a finisher in his team.
“England was where I wanted to stay and live so I thought why not represent a country that had given me so much? My first game in Argentina was probably the best and worst game I’ve ever had in my life. To have my parents there to witness that was awesome.
“As a kid from Otara, South Auckland, everyone has dreams big enough to fill the sky. Mine was to inspire through rugby. Looking back on what I’ve done, I hope I did that.”
Shifting home at this time of year, with Super Rugby Pacific’s inaugural season looming next month, leaves squads largely full.
Solomona is open to joining any team on a replacement-player contract should injuries hit but given his Samoan heritage and vision to switch allegiance and feature at the 2023 World Cup with the Island nation, Moana Pasifika could prove a good fit.
“The aspiration is there to play in a World Cup. The eligibility rules have changed but I have to earn my spot. Just because I say I’m keen doesn’t mean you’re going to get in straight away.
“I want to deliver some good performances and start loving my rugby more and being surrounded by family.”
Solomona fully grasps the challenges he will face in attempting to transition from the kick-heavy, defence oriented English game played in the depths of winter to the expansive, free-flowing fields of Super Rugby. Yet he believes the attack-focused New Zealand approach will suit his natural abilities.
“I’m coming from a style of rugby that I’ve known for five years now so I’ll have to adapt to other coaches’ philosophies and tactics and other players. It’s going to be all new to me.
“In England, the game has brought in caterpillar rucks. It’s kick tennis more here than anywhere so it would be nice to play rugby how we used to in the backyard by throwing the ball about.”
With a room secured in the MIQ lottery, Solomona will soon be winging his way back to where it all began.
“Everything about moving back home is going to fill my soul,” he said.
“When you come home you get this internal energy. I feel like when I touch down in New Zealand, I will be at peace and I can experience what I’ve missed for so many years.
“I can share my culture with my partner and hopefully get stuck into Kiwi footy.”
Everything about moving back home is going to fill my soul. I can share my culture with my partner and hopefully get stuck into Kiwi footy. Denny Solomona