Edinburgh address Bill Mata future amid talk of possible Bristol move
Edinburgh senior coach Sean Everitt admits the club would love to keep star No.8 Viliame ‘Bill’ Mata but accepts that finances may dictate the Fijian’s next move.
Mata, 32, is in his eighth season in the Scottish capital and remains a leading light in the URC outfit’s back row, having originally joined in October 2016 after winning Olympic gold with Fiji’s sevens team in Rio.
He signed a contract extension in January 2021 but as one of the highest-paid players in the country who is not a Scotland international, it remains to be seen whether Scottish Rugby will sanction a sufficiently competitive new deal to retain him, given the governing body reported a £10.5m deficit in the last financial year.
RugbyPass revealed on the weekend that Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam is keen to take the No.8 to Ashton Gate, and Everitt accepts it is not in his hands whether he will still be able to call on Mata beyond the current campaign.
“Who wouldn’t want Bill Mata in their franchise after the way he performed in the World Cup?” the South African said.
“There will be a lot of our players being spoken to behind our backs, that is just the nature of the game. At the same time, we are looking to beef up our squad. So, I don’t think it changes from franchise to franchise.
“Bill is one of the best players in his position and a sought-after player, but we just don’t know at this stage what the final offers are.”
Everitt is the fifth head coach Mata has played under at Edinburgh, having originally been signed by Alan Solomons, who was replaced within a fortnight by first interim coach Duncan Hodge, then Richard Cockerill and subsequently Mike Blair before Everitt’s arrival this summer.
Asked whether Mata’s age made him an expensive option at this stage of his career, Everitt made it clear that replacing the 32-year-old’s ball-carrying grunt, sublime handling skills and durability would be a tall order.
“It depends what the offer is and the finances involved,” he said. “As a person we would be delighted to keep him here. He is a great man who gets on well with everybody in the group. He is well liked in the squad and that plays a big part in trying to keep someone here and gives us hope, but at the end of the day we are not in control of the finances.
“Whatever comes of it, we’ll support him either way. We know he is popular with the Edinburgh fans too and it would be great if Edinburgh could keep him.
“We all know that players that are world class demand a big pay cheque and that is fair. You can replace anyone. Nobody is irreplaceable but it is the character that you need to replace and that’s important to me.”
While the long-term future of one of his frontline operators remains in doubt, in the short term Everitt is able to welcome back Scotland wing Darcy Graham for Saturday’s European Challenge Cup match at home to Castres.
Graham scored five tries at the Rugby World Cup but suffered a hip injury in Scotland’s final pool match against Ireland and has also had surgery to remove a screw in his knee from an earlier operation since returning from France.
“Darcy was one of the best wings in the World Cup so it is great to have him back,” added Everitt, whose side started their Challenge Cup campaign with a 31-18 defeat at Clermont last Friday.
“He brings a wealth of experience and he certainly excites people on counter-attack and that is what Castres is going to offer us, so I am looking forward to having him back.
“Without Blair [Kinghorn, who has joined Toulouse] there, he offers us leadership in the back three as well and he is world class. It is exciting for the team, it is exciting for him and he is chomping at the bit to get back on the field and not having worked with him before, it is great to see him out there. It is always good to have a player as good as Darcy back.”
In another boost for Edinburgh, Argentina wing/full-back Emiliano Boffelli, who was injured in the Pumas’ World Cup bronze final against England, has also returned to full training this week.
If he suffers no ill effects, the 28-year-old should be available for selection for the first of a festive double -header against Scottish rivals Glasgow a week on Friday, 22 December.
Comments on RugbyPass
Danny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to comments