“I spoke to Derenalagi last week that there was an opportunity for him, and he showed that he had. I could see that was one of the better games that he’s had this year,” he said.
Flying Fijians forwards Peceli Yato and Emosi Tuqiri. Photo: Getty IMAGE/ FB
Flying Fijians forwards Peceli Yato and Emosi Tuqiri are out of the July tests due to injuries.
“Tuqiri is heading back home, so he won’t be part of the squad moving forward,” head coach Mick Byrne said.
“There are no injuries to the Flying Fijians players originally selected for the Georgia and the All-Blacks tests,” he said.
Byrne said he had included Swire Shipping Fijian Drua skipper Meli Derenalagi as cover for Yato in the match against the Barbarians last week.
“I spoke to Derenalagi last week that there was an opportunity for him, and he showed that he had. I could see that was one of the better games that he’s had this year,” he said.
“It is likelihood that he’ll come into the squad, but we need to finalise a couple of things as it’s not been easy travelling with a Fijian passport.”
Byrne had refuted claims that a few players had missed out on the July tests due to visa issues.
“On the way to England, Ilaisa Droasese found out a tragedy of his family and then flew straight home,” he said.
“Angelo Smith chose to stay in Australia and pursue his career in Australia so that is why he didn’t come, just to put rumor to bed and fact to life that’s the state.”
Byrne said he hopes to build better relations with the European clubs in relation to player availability.
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