Sevens World Champion Kaminieli Rasaku joined new club Bayonne in France on Tuesday.
Hot on the back of a big World Cup tournament for Fiji where he won the RWC Sevens breakthrough player of the tournament, he now joins Sireli Maqala and Eneriko Buliruarua at the club.
Embed from Getty ImagesRasaku is one of the best talents to emerge on the Sevens scene in the past decade and in less than 12 months has left a huge imprint. In the short time frame he has won Commonwealth silver, a World Cup and numerous player of the tournament awards for the Fiji Sevens side.
A player blessed with balance, strength and the ability to move through traffic with ease.
Bayonne now boast two of Fiji’s best talents and players that will come into contention for a Flying Fijians jersey heading into the Rugby World Cup next year.
Where they will use Rasaku is the next question. A skillset not too dissimilar to that of teammate Maqala, who plays at outside centre for Bayonne. Centre or wing seems the most likely positions to start his professional career.
Why not fullback?
Another option could be Fullback, a position where Fiji don’t boast much depth at a professional level despite having numerous players who have the skillset required for the role. Flying Fijians coach Vern Cotter has tinkered with his selections at 15 starting Kini Murimurivalu, Setariki Tuicuvu and Manasa Mataele on different occasions in the past 18 months. None of these players are out and out fullbacks at club level. Both Rasaku and Maqala could be options from the back given the more power focused mid-field we’re more accustomed to. A bit more finesse in the backline could provide a better balance.
So all eyes will be on Bayonne’s selections over the next 12 months and exactly how they plan to use Rasaku. Let us know in the comments below where you think he will be best utilised.
Which position do you think he is best used?
Bayonne are 2 wins from 4 matches to start the season after an impressive win over Bordeaux early this morning (FJT) 20-15. Sireli Maqala has featured in our top 10 on 7 occasions this year including last weekend. A backline that features Maqala, Rasaku and Buliruarua is an exciting prospect for the club who currently sit in 9th spot (equal 5th).
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