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Northampton Saints to swoop for Fiji's Mawi

By Alex Shaw
Eroni Mawi and Luke Tagi, celebrate with the NRC trophy after winning the NRC Grand Final match between Fijian Drua and Queensland Country at Churchill Park. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

Fresh on the heels of adding Fijian Rugby World Cup hooker Sam Matavesi in a mid-season move from Cornish Pirates, RugbyPass understands that Northampton Saints are set to sign Matavesi’s international teammate, Eroni Mawi.

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The loosehead, 23, has been available since the end of the Rugby World Cup and has been playing his rugby with the Fijian Drua side in the National Rugby Championship (NRC) in Australia and the Fijian Latui side in Global Rapid Rugby.

He was part of the Fiji 23 that played Australia, Uruguay and Wales at the Rugby World Cup and currently has 14 caps to his name, the last of which came in Fiji’s recent game against the Barbarians at Twickenham. He is also a former captain of the Pacific nation’s U20 side.

Providing a solid presence at the set-piece, Mawi has been one of the catalysts for Fiji’s improvement at the scrum over the last few years and will now get a chance to hone those skills in the Gallagher Premiership, where he could join Matavesi and Api Ratuniyarawa in a particularly Fijian tight five at Franklin’s Gardens.

Mawi will be in competition with club captain and stalwart Alex Waller for a spot on the loosehead side of the scrum, as well as South African Francois van Wyk and budding youngster Toby Trinder, who has been on dual registration with Greene King IPA Championship side Coventry.

Saints have found themselves able to strengthen mid-season due to the retirements of Dylan Hartley and Heinrich Brussow at the beginning of this campaign, with the veteran pair’s departures opening up room in the salary cap and space in the squad for new arrivals.

Northampton are currently flying high at the top of the Premiership, as well as winning two from two in the Heineken Champions Cup, as they lean on their explosive attacking game under Director of Rugby Chris Boyd and attack coach Sam Vesty.

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Their high-tempo playing style has seen them outscore, points and tries, all 11 other Premiership clubs so far this season and the signing of Matavesi and Mawi, assuming the latter is confirmed, will add two more tight five players capable of adding to that game plan, whilst also attempting to bolster their resources at the set-piece.

Mawi’s signing, plus that of Drua and international teammate Frank Lomani, who is joining up with the Melbourne Rebels, is a strong endorsement of the pathway that the Drua’s involvement in the NRC has helped create for players on-island in Fiji.

Watch: Crusaders player slammed for racist comment

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Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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