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Nations Cup blow for Fiji as Edinburgh's Bill Mata faces surgery this week
Edinburgh have been hit with a huge blow ahead of the new Guinness PRO14 season after Fiji star Bill Mata was ruled out for up to eight weeks. The 28-year-old faces surgery this week after damaging ankle ligaments during his side’s European Challenge Cup quarter-final loss to Bordeaux last week.
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He will now be missing as Richard Cockerill’s team kick off the season against Ospreys at Murrayfield on Saturday. And Mata is also likely to be absent when Fiji visit Edinburgh in late November as part of the new Autumn Nations Cup tournament.
Confirming the news, Cockerill – who hopes star wing Duhan van der Merwe will be fit to face Ospreys but is still waiting for scrum-half Henry Pyrgos to shake off a concussion – said: “Bill Mata will have surgery on his ankle on Thursday to repair a ligament.
“He will probably be six to eight weeks with that, meaning he will miss the first two rounds of the PRO14 with us then the international period with Fiji. Once he has surgery we’ll know more. It may be shorter, it may be longer but roughly it will be six to eight weeks.
“It’s tough. He has been playing very well. We know Bill is pivotal to ourselves so it’s disappointing. Listen, we’ve got good cover with Nick Haining and Magnus Bradbury are good number eights so we’re not short in the back row but certainly for Edinburgh and Fiji that will be a blow.”
"We are not going to turn Fiji into a ten-man team that kicks the leather off the ball and scrums and lineouts teams."
Daryl Gibson talks to @JLyall93 ??? on Israel Folau, @fijirugby & the medical emergency which left him in awe of the people of Scotland https://t.co/qybNbisoM6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 27, 2020
Losing Mata for such a lengthy period would be bad enough during the best of times but Cockerill admits he will be unable to bring in fresh recruits as Scottish rugby’s coronavirus crisis deepens. New restrictions on fans attending sporting events mean the autumn Tests and next year’s Six Nations are set to be played behind closed doors.
Scottish Rugby Union chief executive Mark Dodson has already admitted that will leave a £30million blackhole in the Murrayfield coffers and Cockerill admits the repercussions might leave his hands tied going into next season.
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“No, we won’t be adding, that’s for sure,” he said. “At this point (I’ve no concerns about this year’s budget) because the money I’ve had I’ve spent. You can’t take it off me. Obviously, for everybody it’s a concern that there will be no fans in during the autumn Tests and if it’s the worst case, there will be no fans in during the Six Nations.
“If that happens then I think the whole game will have a rethink around where we’re at. But I think that will be a challenge all round. We know that if we don’t have fans in within the next six months it’s going to cause problems for the world game, not just Scottish rugby.
“Hopefully it won’t get to that but we just need to keep working through it and we’ll have to adjust playing-wise as we go along. That’s just the way it is. We’ve got our squad that we’ve got for the season coming and depending on where we end up Covid wise our budgets will reflect that.
“We’ve not looked that far ahead (to next season). We would normally probably for recruitment but I think everybody is waiting to see where we end up with this. It might be more positive. Likewise we may have to cut our cloth to suit depending on the financial circumstances.”
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Fijian's up against 2 Scots, 1 English and 1 French ? https://t.co/7UCIKAauWm
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 29, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to comments