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'He's a real breath of fresh air... it's very rare that you get rapid and strong'
Bristol boss Pat Lam has hailed the superlative recent form of his new Fijian winger Siva Naulago, who has been on fire in recent weeks for the current Gallagher Premiership leaders. The 29-year-old, who was signed last year from Super League outfit Hull, was sent for some additional union tuition just last month.
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Naulago had scored just one try in his initial four Premiership starts, an exposure that culminated in the Bristol defeat by Sale in early February. However, ever since assistant coach Conor McPhillips took him aside to explain some of the positional nuances of elite-level rugby union compared to league, Naulago has hit top form.
He scored twice at London Irish and while he recorded a blank in his next outing against Leicester, he was unstoppable last weekend at Worcester, running in a try hat-trick to take his tally to five tries in his last three matches and six in all over the course of seven Premiership appearances.
Naulago, who enlisted in the British Army at the age of 20 and has seen active duty in Afghanistan, is now in the Bristol team for Friday’s night league game at home to Wasps and Lam can’t wait to see the latest exploits of his flying Fijian unfold.
“We just love the fact the best players you get are coachable players, players who are ambitious. They can have talent but they have got to be coachable,” enthused Lam. “The first thing he said to us after the Worcester game, we go ‘well done’ and he was, ‘Oh, I should have used two hands to give that ball to Nisi [Niyi Adeolokun]’.
?? ??? ???? ?????????? ?@Sheedy95 to @r_naulago was a deadly combination on Saturday night ?
Watch full match highlights on #BearsTV now ?#WORvBRI | #BristolBears
— Bristol Bears ? (@BristolBears) March 7, 2021
“I had that in my notes. I went ‘that’s good’ and then he also says, ‘I should have let that ball bounce’. He is just thinking about how to get better. He is military, he’s army and he is so fit. Sometimes guys can be really quick but when you look at him afterwards he looks like he can keep going with his work rate.
“There was a time in the game where Billy Searle kicked the ball back to the corner where there was space. Siva read it perfectly. He just saw it and got back, caught the ball, whereas when he first came he wasn’t thinking about those things, a lot of positional stuff and where he is going.
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“Even the lines he ran, he missed a couple early on in previous games but Conor McPhillips has been working with him around the lines, where he enters. On the first try, we knew Worcester would come flying up there and the full-back closes early so we just talked about getting on that line and Cal [Callum Sheedy] will put the ball over.
“It worked a treat. It’s like in the army, get on the front line, go and do this and it’s ‘yes sir’. That is what he is like. He’s there, ‘Tell me what you want me to do and I will go and do it’. He is a real breath of fresh air and he’s rapid. It’s very rare that you get rapid and strong.
“Obviously he is very close to Semi (Radradra) and we sort of saw touches like when he played against Exeter he played well. Semi was talking to him the whole time but after Semi got injured in the Bath game, in the Sale game we realised how much impact Semi has on Siva because he got caught out in position a few times.
“That is why we pulled him back, did some work with him, allowed him to re-strengthen his hamstrings as well because in rugby league it’s different training. The medical and S&C team did a great job. They re-strengthened them and he is quicker and stronger than he was. It’s exciting.
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“He is still in the army now and is in the barracks, in the houses, and they look after him well. There is a good agreement with the army but he is here for another three, four years which is great.”
'Can you imagine a Premiership club going ‘Right lads, we’re going skiing’. Absolutely no way… it was me, Bryan Habana & Duane Vermeulen learning to ski together' @Dmjattwood fell out of love with rugby at Bath but found it again, writes @heagneyl ??? https://t.co/QWWZQPD1Ek
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 21, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
that backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
24 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
48 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
24 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
24 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
24 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
24 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
24 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to commentsI think he is right, SBW is respected in RSA. The guy who never stood up is a worm. Sseems lots of NZ SBW hate, you do the crime do the time.
17 Go to commentsAfter missing the curfew, the player was simply too “Shagged” to stand up.
17 Go to commentsVernier is probably the best 12 in the world though she has some English competition these days . I am nervous for England because it is unpredictable France and who knows which team will turn up, but they have not yet shown anything that should worry England, Saturday could be a different day. I would be more confident against the BFs.
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