“Fiji and England:Due to All Black Snub, Fiji and England Eye Blues Star Hoskins Sotutu…Read more
“International Tug-of-War for Blues No8 Hoskins Sotutu After All Blacks Omission”
England will face strong competition from Flying Fijians head coach Mick Byrne if Hoskins Sotutu, the Blues’ in-form No8, decides to forgo his aim of rejoining the All Blacks squad.
Sotutu, 25, played a pivotal role in helping the Blues secure the Super Rugby Pacific title against the Chiefs last weekend. However, new All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson left him out of the squad for the upcoming tests against England.
Since making his debut against Australia in 2020, Sotutu has earned 14 caps for the All Blacks. Despite this, he qualifies to play for England through his mother and for Fiji through his father. Next year, he will be eligible to switch his international allegiance as his last appearance for the All Blacks was in the 25-25 draw against England at Twickenham in November 2022. He was subsequently dropped for 2023 and missed the Rugby World Cup selection.
Byrne expressed his interest, telling The Fiji Times, “He’s definitely a player of interest to us. We’re looking into the process now to confirm the exact date he becomes available.”
Securing Sotutu would be a notable achievement for Byrne, who has taken on the national coaching role after leading the Fijian Drua. The Drua’s creation has expanded Fiji’s pool of professional players, bolstering their efforts after their Rugby World Cup campaign in France last year.
Byrne, who couldn’t select several of his northern hemisphere players for the recent loss to the Barbarians at Twickenham, aims to strengthen ties with European leagues to secure better release agreements in the future.
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