Former All Blacks sevens and Hurricanes winger Salesi Tuivuna Mauri Rayasi will debut for the Fiji Water Flying Fijians against the Wallabies at McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, Australia tomorrow.

He was named at fullback by head coach Mick Byrne yesterday.

The Vannes wing made more than 50 appearances for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby before signing with the French Top 14 club. He started in 20 matches on the wing this season.

“He (Rayasi) is pretty excited,” Byrne said.

“He is a very accomplished player, very skillful. I like the way he has been training – works very har doff the field as well understanding his role that’s been really pleasing and I’m looking forward to it.”

The Nayau, Lau native is the sole debutant in the run-on side, while Drua halfback Philip Baselala is in line for a potential debut off the bench.

“It’s exciting times for us,” Byrne said via Zoom.

“All our players have come down from the North, who have gelled well together as a team and it’s an exciting opportunity for us to get in against Australia in Australia, especially in a Lions year when there’s a lot of excitement around.

“You can see in a couple of Super Rugby games that the Lions have played that the crowd are coming out so we’re really looking forward to a big crowd here on Sunday.

“We’re looking forward to showing everyone the growth we’ve had in this team over the last 12 months and moving on from the Rugby World Cup in 2023, the growth we’ve had in this team.”

Despite the heavy rain and wind Byrne is happy with the way the players presented themselves during training.

The match will kick off at 3:30pm.

Feedback: sereana.salalo@fijisun.com.fj