Two players of Fijian heritage were among the five new recruitments in the Highlanders squad for next year’s Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Highlanders hooker Soane Vikena and flanker Veveni Lasaqa. Photo: Getty Images
Two players of Fijian heritage were among the five new recruitments in the Highlanders squad for next year’s Super Rugby Pacific competition.
They are hooker Soane Vikena and flanker Veveni Lasaqa; they have signed a two-year contract.
Vikena hails from Nasilai in Rewa and member of the Blues squad that hoisted the Super Rugby title. In 2020, he was a member of the Blues Under-20s and was Blues Development Player of the Year. He represented the New Zealand U20 from 2020-2021 and played for Auckland in the National Provincial Championship. He made his Super Rugby debut for the Blues in 2021 against the Crusaders.
Vikena is an energetic hooker with strong open-field runner, excellent tackling and an accurate line-out thrower.
Lasaqa made his Super Rugby debut against the Reds, this year. The 22-year-old played for Bay of Plenty in the NPC. Lasaqa was born in Lautoka and moved to New Zealand to attend Taunranga Boys College.
The other three players are Will Stoddart, former New Zealand sevens rugby winger Caleb Tangitau and Josh Wahaanga.
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