Fiji skipper Dominiko Waqaniburotu left looking for a new club
Fiji World Cup skipper Dominiko Waqaniburotu is looking for a new club after it emerged in French media that he will not extend his one-year stay at Pau. The 34-year-old hooked up with the Top 14 club on a one-season deal following the 2019 World Cup in Japan, but he has not had the best of times, making just four league appearances (and one in the Challenge Cup) in an injury-hit campaign that was officially terminated on Thursday by French officials due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to his switch to Pau, Waqaniburotu has spent seven productive seasons at Brive whom he had joined following his emergence in the New Zealand NPC with Waikato. He was highly regarded at Brive, their coach Jeremy Davidson stating in January 2019: “He is a player who has an aura in the group. He does not let himself down.
"He is a tough guy, a leader of men. He embodies an authority, not by his words but by his actions. After the exceptional victory at the Stade de France, nothing has changed in his behaviour. Even if there are rotations since the beginning of the season and he has not been holder (of a Brive starting jersey) all the time, we really count on him for the future.”
That faith didn’t last as no sooner did Brive secure promotion back too the Top 14 had the Fijian decided to switch clubs.
Capped 51 times by his country, Waqaniburotu had led Fiji to a historic win in Paris over France in 2018. However, hopes that this breakthrough made them a serious threat for the World Cup were misplaced as they were ambushed by minnows Uruguay in their second match at the finals and failed to progress to the quarter-finals.
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I commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
Go to commentsThe article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
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